Ann Arbor budget plan increases staffing in police, holds line on fire
City Administrator Steve Powers said difficult decisions made by the Ann Arbor City Council in years past have helped lay a solid foundation for the 2012-13 budget.
Ryan J. Stanton | AnnArbor.com
In fact, he proposes increasing police staffing.
The applause — the first time in years that anyone could remember such a sound following a budget presentation inside Ann Arbor's city hall — came from members of the Ann Arbor City Council as well as residents sitting in the audience.
"I'm sure the council will weigh all of its options," Council Member Christopher Taylor, D-3rd Ward, said of the budget for 2012-13.
Ryan J. Stanton | AnnArbor.com
The recommended budget for the fiscal year starting July 1 assumes a 0.8 percent increase in property tax collections. It shows $79.2 million in recurring general fund revenues and $77.8 million in recurring expenditures, leaving a surplus of nearly $1.4 million.
Powers is proposing the city use a little more than $1 million of that surplus on what he's labeled "non-recurring expenditures," including a new police recruit pilot program.
That leaves a total of $323,362 being socked away in the city's rainy day fund under the administrator's recommended budget.
"We are fortunate that we are able to get back to a more strategic approach to budgeting," Powers said. "We're recognizing and funding long-term liabilities. Collaborative opportunities are key to 2013. So is investing in safe and reliable infrastructure."
The city's full-time employee count is proposed to drop from 706 to 685 in 2012-13 — a net reduction of 21 positions or 3 percent of the city's work force.
Powers said 19 positions are lost as a result of the city recently outsourcing police dispatch operations to the county.
While there are some position changes built into the proposed budget, Powers said there are no layoffs, meaning no city employees are left out on the street.
The Ann Arbor Police Department actually will forgo nine planned layoffs and see one added officer position under the administrator's recommended budget, which also includes funding five other part-time officer positions as part of a new program to recruit new officers.
Those initiatives are paid for by the recent outsourcing of dispatch operations, which is estimated to save the city $624,000 in the next budget year, while new police labor contracts will save another $447,000, according to Powers' proposal.
The budget shows a $657,000 increase in fire department revenues, which Powers said comes primarily from inspections Fire Chief Chuck Hubbard has initiated.
"Fire inspections are required by ordinance and those have not been done in the past," Powers said. "Chief Hubbard has been pushing the department to have those inspections completed, and the revenue is being recommended to be used to support the department."
Powers said he couldn't say why the inspections weren't done in the past other than it just wasn't a priority for the department.
A new labor contract with the firefighters union is going to cost the city an extra $229,000 next year, according to Powers' presentation.
On the parks side of the budget, Powers is proposing the city switch back to a 14-day mowing cycle. The city had been on a 19-day mowing cycle to save money until now.
"There were citizen complaints and questions regarding the overall condition of the parks with the length of the grass, the condition of the grass," explained Powers, who also is proposing adding three seasonal park ranger positions.
His presentation also showed $39,000 being restored for nonprofit human services funding, plus an extra $10,000 going to the county for human services.
The budget also factors in a $50,000 positive gain in rental housing inspections, which Powers explained this way: "We have fewer staff and we're doing more inspections."
Water and sewer rates are proposed to increase between 3.25 and 4.25 percent.
A May 7 public hearing on those fees and the overall budget is planned as part of the budget process, followed by council adoption on May 21.
Powers said he's not planning to hold a town hall meeting on the budget but he will appear on a call-in show on CTN in early May where he'll take live questions from the public.
Council Member Margie Teall, D-4th Ward, offered positive feedback on the budget presentation and said she's especially glad to see police staffing increasing.
Council Member Margie Teall, D-4th Ward, said she's especially glad to see police staffing increasing and said doing the same in the fire department isn't off the table.
Ryan J. Stanton | AnnArbor.com
Teall, who has been on council for about a decade, said she's not ruling out the idea of using some of the surplus shown in the proposed budget to increase staffing in the fire department.
The amount Powers proposes socking away would be enough to hire four new firefighters and increase the fire department's FTE count from 82 to 86.
"I think it's something we're going to look at," Teall said. "I don't believe there's anything off the table right now. It's still early in the process."
Even with a surplus projected, Powers said he didn't feel comfortable recommending an increase in staffing in fire. He noted the city's longer-term forecast shows the city is expecting a break-even budget in 2014 followed by future deficits in 2015 and 2016.
The budget for the upcoming year shows an increase of three FTEs in financial and administrative services and one FTE being added in the administrator's office.
Of the $78.9 million in general fund expenditures, $24.6 million is in police and $13.9 million is in fire, meaning nearly half the budget is going to public safety.
The fire department budget is growing by $531,971 and the police department budget is shrinking by about $1 million.
Nearly $4 million is going to the 15th District Court, which is up from less than $3.8 million budgeted this year.
The budget for the mayor and council is growing by $13,214, ticking up to $375,710. The actual total expenses for mayor and council two years ago was $339,129.
Overall, total city spending in 2012-13 is shown at $382.2 million. Meanwhile, total revenues are shown at $404.9 million.
Powers said difficult decisions made by council in years past have helped lay a solid foundation for the 2012-13 budget.
"We have a very talented and dedicated work force that has enabled the city to navigate a challenging economy," he said, making note of employee concessions. "It's a budget that responds to community concerns and council priorities."
The city's millage rate is ticking up slightly from 16.47 mills to 16.57 mills, which is due to the passage of a new sidewalk millage in November.
The non-recurring general fund expenditures include, among other things, a $272,220 golf subsidy, $154,000 Housing Commission subsidy, $150,000 for the police recruit program and $307,781 as a local match for a $2.8 million federal high-speed rail grant,
The $2.8 million federal grant since last year has been discussed in the context of the proposed Fuller Road Station project, but Powers chose his words carefully on Monday in discussing the allocation included in his recommended budget.
"It's not for the Fuller Road Station project, but Fuller Road could be the location. That will be determined by this planning grant," he said.
"There's a federal planning grant for studying locations for a high-speed rail station," he explained. "There is a non-federal match that's required."
Powers said no decision has been made yet. He anticipates the issue coming before council sometime in June or July.
"By including the funds in the recommended budget, this would allow that grant to move forward if council chooses," Powers said.
The police department is budgeted at 146 FTEs under Powers' budget, which is down from 182 in 2010. The fire department is budgeted at 82 FTEs, which is down from 94 in 2010.
"Public safety is, of course, a core service," Taylor said. "We strive to have the finest public safety that we can afford. With improving economic conditions in the city and the state, we are able to afford more than we have in the past. And the city administrator — in conjunction with the mayor and council — is rightfully focusing on restoring that area."
Mayor John Hieftje sounded hesitant that the city should consider using any of the surplus shown in the budget to hire more firefighters.
"We would not want to hire anybody this year if we aren't going to be able to sustain them next year," he said. "There are still enough unknowns out there that I think the city administrator is recommending we be cautious."
Ryan J. Stanton covers government and politics for AnnArbor.com. Reach him at ryanstanton@annarbor.com or 734-623-2529. You also can follow him on Twitter or subscribe to AnnArbor.com's email newsletters.
Comments
Sparty
Thu, Apr 19, 2012 : 2:30 p.m.
Yet another post hijacked by Ranzini and his corrections right after posting. Seriously, this is not a personal attack, but he is taking over almost every topic and goes on and on with lengthy posts with page numbers of various reports and sources to backup his positions which are then disputed by others and he posts over and over, all while reiterating his former and current positions. He has fawning admirers but surely there is or should be a commenting guideline for posts that become blog entries on every topic?
Joe_Citizen
Wed, Apr 18, 2012 : 12:58 a.m.
I'm glad I moved away from A2! Way to much stupidity on the counsel. I still can't believe they wanted to single down a heavy traffic road there on Jackson ave. That is just down right stupid, and should be criminal to be that stupid.
CityFF
Tue, Apr 17, 2012 : 11:09 p.m.
Gale- Whether or not it's the right thing was not the purpose of my post. It was to point out that the elimination of 19 positions in dispatch is actually 19 people and 19 families that are adversely affected. People were forced into retirement and the rest are forced to start their careers over with a different company. Powers says that no one is being thrown out on the street but that's basically what the did. He should be a little more compassionate about elimating positions. I would have liked to seen "we made a move to out source dispatch which elimated 19 employees. We thank those employees for their service and we wish them well. We have worked with the county to try and find them positions. This was a move that was neccessary for the city and I apologize for an adverse affects this may have on these hardworking dedicated professionals." Have we ever seen how much this is going to actually save? How is it going to affect the service?
Stephen Lange Ranzini
Tue, Apr 17, 2012 : 8:34 p.m.
@Gale Logan: sorry, as many times as you repeat it, it doesn't make what you are saying true, because it's not! "During deliberations, city staff confirmed that at least a portion of the public art allocation required from the new municipal building (aka the police/courts building) could be associated with the general fund – about $50,000 out of the $250,000." See: http://annarborchronicle.com/2011/11/25/initial-ok-less-art-money-bigger-greenbelt/ I was there at the meeting. The reporter is accurate. At least $50,000 came from the general fund and went to the 1% for art fund.
Gale Logan
Tue, Apr 17, 2012 : 7:43 p.m.
Logan is right, time to give it up on the art fund. No general fund $$ can go into the fund so there are none to come out. The art fund could end and still none of it could go to pay for the police or fire fighters. If it took money from the cops and FF's I would be against it too but it does not, cannot. A city like Ann Arbor should have a public art program.
Gale Logan
Tue, Apr 17, 2012 : 6:54 p.m.
Mr. Goldsmith even you must tire of using the same false line over and over. Mr. Stanton has relayed the news several times that no money from the general fund goes to pay for art. The editorial board also stated this. It is a fact that even if the art program were ended today, the money would have to go back to its source funds. Yes, it could go to pay for a little more roadway or sewer pipe but except for $50,000 (less than 1/2 of a firefighters compensation for one year) that may have/could have gone into the fund before general fund $$ were excluded, none of the money could be used to pay for fire fighters. None. This is not because of any council action, it is state statute backing up the recognized and approved accounting rules.
Alan Goldsmith
Tue, Apr 17, 2012 : 5:41 p.m.
"Mayor John Hieftje sounded hesitant that the city should consider using any of the surplus shown in the budget to hire more firefighters." No we need to save that for an "ARTS COORDINATOR". Plenty of money for that.
Alan Goldsmith
Tue, Apr 17, 2012 : 5:37 p.m.
"Council Member Margie Teall, D-4th Ward, offered positive feedback on the budget presentation and said she's especially glad to see police staffing increasing." Margie Teall must have been talking to unhappy 4th Ward voters the past few weeks. You know, the ones she's ignored the past two years. Again and again she proves she doesn't get it or understand any of the issues impacting the Ward, that is...until a few weeks before she's up for REELECTION. Then...it's time to put on the "I CARE" mask. Not going to work this time Ms. Teall.
Gale Logan
Tue, Apr 17, 2012 : 4:31 p.m.
City FF, you are right, they were laid off but I remember some of them had enough time to retire and the rest went to work for the county. Lots of people had their job closed out over the last ten years, its been rough, but these workers had a soft landing. Moving dispatch to the county saved big bucks so the city could hire more police. Seems like a good thing overall.
Ron Granger
Tue, Apr 17, 2012 : 3:14 p.m.
Some areas of spending that are frequently abused and often benefit from more public scrutiny: Government vehicles used on personal time, or driven home. Who has them? How many miles are they driven? Are the miles even logged? Are the vehicles driven outside the city? Gasoline. It is expensive. Do employees have gas cards? Are they audited? I have heard of employees who take a company vehicle home, and siphon the gas out in their garage to use in a personal vehicle. Credit and debit cards. Has anyone FOIA'd credit card spending within the city of Ann Arbor? Who has'em? What are the limits? What is the spending? What is the asset tracking policy within the city? If someone buys something for $150, does that item get registered and tracked? What if that item disappears? The city may be doing a great job managing these types of spending - I have no idea. Does anyone?
CityFF
Tue, Apr 17, 2012 : 2:33 p.m.
Gale Logan - I am right. They laid them off. Gave them pink slips and ended their employment. They told them they could apply for a job with county dispatch if they wanted and they might he considered.
Stephen Lange Ranzini
Tue, Apr 17, 2012 : 2:18 p.m.
@Gale Logan: FYI, when ICMA wrote their expert report, the city had 92 fire department employees and it was described by ICMA as an unsafe situation. While rules changes in the new contract will allow them to cover more hours of coverage with fewer people, the current level of 76 employees or even the proposed level of 82 employees is below the "magic number" cited by the Fire Chief and the Union as required to properly staff the department at this time, which is 88 employees, if you want to have five fire stations and not three, and want to meet national standards for response times and not get full alarm coverage in scientifically adequate time to just 53% of fires in the city.
Stephen Lange Ranzini
Tue, Apr 17, 2012 : 8:27 p.m.
Correction: the city had 94 employees when the ICMA report was written, 18 more than today, and 12 more than currently budgeted in fiscal year 2013.
Gale Logan
Tue, Apr 17, 2012 : 1:39 p.m.
In Flight, I think you might want to check your facts. There is no mention of staffing being an issue in the consultants report about the fire department.
Pete Warburton
Tue, Apr 17, 2012 : 1:27 p.m.
Our City Assessor has the solution for all budget shortfalls . It seems he has a formula that can make your property's Taxable Value the same as Market Value . They did that for me after I went before the Board of Review. If he did this for each taxable property in Ann Arbor , we could fully staff both the Police and Fire Department and put in a light rail system down Jackson Rd.
In Flight
Tue, Apr 17, 2012 : 1:10 p.m.
Just so I understand this right, the city spent tens of thousands of dollars on a joke of a report to tell them what anyone with half a brain could Google about the fire department. That is they are dangerously understaffed. The result of the new budget is we'll add more cops and desk jockeys to the city but ignore fire? The best they could do is not bleed the fire department anymore that what they have over the years? This city council is a joke.
Stephen Lange Ranzini
Tue, Apr 17, 2012 : 2:15 p.m.
@Ron Granger: FYI, when ICMA wrote their expert report, the city had 92 fire department employees and it was an unsafe situation. Not fixing the unsafe conditions won't CYA. While rules changes in the new contract will allow them to cover more hours of coverage with fewer people, the current level of 76 employees or even the proposed level of 82 employees is below the "magic number" required to properly staff the department at this time, which is 88 employees, if you want to have five fire stations and not three, and want to meet national standards for response times and not get full alarm coverage in scientifically adequate time to just 53% of fires in the city. P.S. I like your comments above about fire inspection issues and city catering expenditures a lot!
Ron Granger
Tue, Apr 17, 2012 : 1:27 p.m.
I expect the city council and city to pay objective outside experts to guide them on important decisions such as best practices for fire staffing, etc. Seeking the advice of experts in such matters is also important from a liability and CYA perspective.
Ron Granger
Tue, Apr 17, 2012 : 1:09 p.m.
How much does the city spend on catering and food? For meetings, etc. Is it Zingerman's? Should it be? How about subway or something less expensive. Or maybe they have already eliminated such spending? Someone should FOIA this. Hint, hint ;-)
A2centsworth
Tue, Apr 17, 2012 : 3:59 p.m.
Ron, I think they should have to bring their own sack lunch. How many other people get free lunches at their jobs?
Stephen Lange Ranzini
Tue, Apr 17, 2012 : 12:59 p.m.
"The budget for the mayor and council is growing by $13,214, ticking up to $375,710. The actual total expenses for mayor and council two years ago was $339,129." Page 68 of the budget document linked to the report indicates that nearly all of the increase is not in salaries or benefits but in "Other Charges" to the department which rose as follows: 2010FY $66,007 2011FY $77,016 2012FY $82,423 Forecast 2013FY $83,007 Budget Request Isn't this the "expense account"? Why would expense account expenditures be rising 25% in two years when the city hasn't been meeting it's basic responsibilities in fire safety, police and road repair? The leadership is setting a poor tone at the top. Their actions are in essence saying "everyone should save money, be frugal and do more with less in city government except for us!"
Stephen Lange Ranzini
Tue, Apr 17, 2012 : 12:42 p.m.
If city council raised the residential and non-residential soil erosion, sedimentation control and grading permit and inspection fees to the actual cost of providing the service (they are now deeply subsidized), it would almost pay for the entire $480,000 expenditure that I am advocating (see page 63 of the budget document linked from the article). The costs are currently proposed to be raised up to a range of $40 to $200 each from $35 to $165 each, but could easily be set *at* the cost of delivering the service, which is stated as being $97 to $324 each. Why not?
Gale Logan
Tue, Apr 17, 2012 : 12:13 p.m.
I think you are wrong about that A2 FF. The city combined dispatch with the county and the dispatchers are still working, in the same place but for the county. More of a transfer than a layoff.
huh7891
Wed, Apr 18, 2012 : 12:44 a.m.
In addition if they did get the job..they also took a pay cut.
nowayjose
Tue, Apr 17, 2012 : 9:29 p.m.
You are wrong. All dispatchers were laid off. If PD dispatchers wanted a job with the county they had to apply, interview and pass background, just as any new hire would do. Then if they got the job they lost any seniority and time on the job they had with the city. Not all dispatchers got hired by the county. So Gale Logan you are incorrect.
CityFF
Tue, Apr 17, 2012 : 12:03 p.m.
It says 19 positions are lost to outsourcing police dispatching then the very next line says no one is laid off. Losing 19 positions to outsourcing is layoffs and you are throwing them out on the street.
Gale Logan
Tue, Apr 17, 2012 : 11:50 a.m.
The city has their budget in order. There is a comprehensive story about all the efficiencies the city has put in place over recent years in the A2 Observer this month. It is impressive. A major reason for the city budget being in good shape is they don't spend money for salaries etc, that won't be there next year. The council is right to hold the line. And, other than a very small increase for the city to take on sidewalk repair, a job the city has never done before, A2 has not raised taxes. I think the city millage now is still lower than it was 10 years ago. And no Carole, if you put the art funds back in their place the city could build a little more roadway or sewer line but they could not fund the fire department. Again, this has been explained many times in this publication both by Mr. Stanton and in an editorial.
Stephen Lange Ranzini
Tue, Apr 17, 2012 : 11:34 a.m.
Can someone please explain why: "The budget for the mayor and council is growing by $13,214, ticking up to $375,710. The actual total expenses for mayor and council two years ago was $339,129." Neither the council members or the Mayor got a pay raise, so what is this extra money being spent on???
Ron Granger
Tue, Apr 17, 2012 : 1:07 p.m.
Have you priced Zingerman's catering lately? If you want food for your important meeting, it will cost. But it will be delicious. I wonder how much the city spends at Zingerman's and other locations? Wouldn't something like subway or Jimmy Joes be more appropriately frugal?
Stephen Lange Ranzini
Tue, Apr 17, 2012 : 12:58 p.m.
Page 68 of the budget document linked to the report indicates that nearly all of the increase is not in salaries or benefits but in "Other Charges" to the department which rose as follows: 2010FY $66,007 2011FY $77,016 2012FY $82,423 Forecast 2013FY $83,007 Budget Request Isn't this the "expense account"? Why would expense account expenditures be rising 25% in two years when the city hasn't been meeting it's basic responsibilities in fire safety, police and road repair? The leadership is setting a poor tone at the top. Their actions are in essence saying "everyone should save money and be frugal except for us!"
Stephen Lange Ranzini
Tue, Apr 17, 2012 : 11:14 a.m.
"The budget shows a $657,000 increase in fire department revenues, which Powers said comes primarily from inspections Fire Chief Chuck Hubbard has initiated. "Fire inspections are required by ordinance and those have not been done in the past," Powers said. "Chief Hubbard has been pushing the department to have those inspections completed, and the revenue is being recommended to be used to support the department." Powers said he couldn't say why the inspections weren't done in the past other than it just wasn't a priority for the department." Here is the answer. As a result of the huge cuts to the fire department from 120 employees to 76, the fire inspection department was all but eliminated. As recently as last Summer there was only one fire inspector and she had been recently trained. Since then the department has been staffed up to four fire fighters by taking regular fire fighting personnel off the line, causing the response times to drop so that in addition to the other cuts, only 37% of fires could be met with four fire fighters within the national standard of four minute response time. I welcome the increased staffing in the fire safety department. If they are properly trained and do their jobs effectively, these people can save lives and decrease the incidence of fires in our town and it's a critical safety function.
Ron Granger
Tue, Apr 17, 2012 : 1:05 p.m.
The fire inspections were badly neglected in the past. As an example, the downtown Borders store would put bookcases on the stairway landings, narrowing and impeding a critical fire exit. After a fire complaint, it was removed for a couple of weeks. Then it returned. It should have been a large fine and regular re-inspections. Who blocks a stairwell in a large store with bookshelves?
Stephen Lange Ranzini
Tue, Apr 17, 2012 : 11 a.m.
I find it highly ironic that "The budget for the upcoming year shows an increase of three FTEs in financial and administrative services and one FTE being added in the administrator's office." If they didn't have to track so many separate accounts - 58 different accounting "buckets" at the last count - they wouldn't need so many accountants! Then this gem: "Overall, total city spending in 2012-13 is shown at $382.2 million. Meanwhile, total revenues are shown at $404.9 million." Translation = "The city is projected to run a surplus/profit of $22.7 million in the 2013 fiscal year, but we can't adequately fund the general fund bucket where we pay for fire and police because we have giant surpluses in some of the other buckets we set up for less urgent priorities!" Just $480,000 would allow a staffing plan in the fire department to hire back 6 more fire fighters that would prevent the planned closure of two of the five fire stations and allow the fire department to meet e national standards for response times. Drain the buckets!!
Ron Granger
Tue, Apr 17, 2012 : 1:03 p.m.
Money needs to be kept in reserve to build parking structures for the University. Apparently the financial hires are required in order to give our parks away to the University.
Stephen Lange Ranzini
Tue, Apr 17, 2012 : 12:04 p.m.
Correction: the new budget plan linked to from this article now lists *just* 52 different separate accounts.
Stephen Lange Ranzini
Tue, Apr 17, 2012 : 10:47 a.m.
I welcome the proposal not to cut the city's fire department from a budget of 82 fire fighters to 77 fire fighters for next fiscal year. The city currently employs 76 fire fighters. However to fully staff the five existing fire stations across the city and avoid closing two of them under the ill advised plan being proposed, six more fire fighters are required to get to a minimum of 88 fire fighters. If we had 88 fire fighters we could meet the national NFPA standards for fire safety, for four minute and eight minute response times, getting 4 and 15 fire fighters respectively to a fire or a full alarm. To budget an additional 6 fire fighters to get to the absolute minimum of 88 needed requires an additional $480,000. We need to spend this money. If we don't, what the ICMA fire study said was an unsafe fire safety situation before they cut so many fire fighters will be even worse! The question is, do you want $400,000 in the rainy day fund, or the minimum fire fighters needed and run a $80,000 deficit? Remember, last year they projection a $1 million deficit requiring the giant cuts in the police and fire departments and ended up with a surplus. Th city has $11 million in reserves in the general fund and can afford a small $80,000 deficit for the coming year.
Stephen Lange Ranzini
Tue, Apr 17, 2012 : 11:06 a.m.
Correction to my comment above: the rainy day fund is projected to be increased in the budget by $323,362 not $400,000, so if we funded 88 fire fighters as required to meet the national standards for fire safety reponse times, the deficit would be $156,638 not $80,000.
bill lymangrover
Tue, Apr 17, 2012 : 10:46 a.m.
I'm wondering if we might have too many police officers, after having two large gentlemen come to my house for a half hour or so to lecture me for having held up a cardboard ("slow down") sign, which I pointed at over speed trafffic in our child friendly neighborhood. Can't wait to get back to the U.P. Bill Lymangrover, Ann Arbor and Manistique
Carole
Tue, Apr 17, 2012 : 10:40 a.m.
Now if you put the art funds back where they belong and close down DDA, the city would have a great deal of funding to bring the Fire Department back to full staffing and complete other projects that they funds were originally slated to be used for.
bill lymangrover
Tue, Apr 17, 2012 : 10:38 a.m.
I'm wondering if we have too many police, after having two large A2 police officers come to my house for a half hour or so to lecture me about my having held up a sign on cardboard, which said: "Slow Down", which I pointed at way-over speed traffic in our residential/child friendly neighborhood. Can't wait to get back to the Upper Peninsula. Bill Lymangrover, A2 and Manistique. ( after writing this should probably should get ready for another visit; if so, hope the A2 News has time to cover it ).
kraiford12
Tue, Apr 17, 2012 : 7:06 p.m.
I'm not sure this is a good or appropriate example of why we need less officers. Are you saying we need less because the two officer that spoke with you were "Large"? Or because they spent a half an hour speaking with you? Call volume varies week to week, day to day, hour to hour. I'm sure in your case there was ample time for those officers to be there and discuss the issue. This is sometimes referred to as "Community Policing"; officers getting out there, getting involved, and speaking with the community. Also, that car could have just had 2 officers riding in it during the time of your contact. So, I'm finding it hard to see your example as a need for less officers. Nor do I see it as "wasting time".
Ron Granger
Tue, Apr 17, 2012 : 1 p.m.
How dare you present an actual real world example of police wasting time! Here's a fact: if there isn't enough crime, police get laid off