On Feb. 2, the City Council took up the item below agendized by Vice Mayor Val Lerch with Councilmembers Rae Gabelich, Patrick O'Donnell and Gerrie Schipske.

Since the current police staff levels are below the Police Department's projected needs, the Department is 19 officers below the budgeted staffing levels for this fiscal year and with the projected retirements for the next two years there is an immediate need to convene a Police Academy this fiscal year .

We believe that the present staffing levels are at or near critical levels. If the City does not convene an academy and promote lateral hires immediately, the staffing levels in the Department in two years will be devastating to this City.

Therefore, we request the City Manager begin the application process for a Police Academy this year and report back to the City Council within 15 days identifying the funding for the academy and lateral hiring .

Recommendation:

Request the City Manager to begin the application process for a Police Academy this year and report back to the City Council within 15 days identifying the funding for the academy and lateral hiring.

We believe the statements by Vice Mayor Val Lerch and Councilwoman Rae Gabelich in support of the agenda item, and the statements of Mayor Bob Foster and Councilwoman Suja Lowenthal in response, are highly newsworthy, as is the statement by LB Police Officers Ass'n President Lt. Steve James.

LBReport.com provides numerical background, below, to help clarify figures in the discussion.

LBReport.com also plans to provide live video coverage of Wednesday's (Feb. 10) Community Safety Meeting in Cal Hts/Bixby Knolls which will feature North Division Commander David Hendricks and Councilmembers Rae Gabelich and Tonia Reyes Uranga. (Information, click here).

LBReport.com is interested in your views on what LB's elected officials said below.

(To view the item in its entirety and access documents related to it, click here)

On September 15, 2009, the City Council voted (in adopting City Hall's FY10 City Hall budget) to cut 59 budgeted police officer positions. That left LB taxpayers with roughly the per capita budgeted police level for citywide service that exiting Mayor Ernie Kell handed incoming Mayor Beverly O'Neill in mid-1994 (about 1.8 officers per thousand residents).

Although the Sept. 09 Council vote restored 12 sworn police officers that city management (without dissent from Mayor Foster) originally proposed to cut, it eliminated (as proposed by management and the Mayor) funding for a replenishment Police Academy Class with 17 recruits.

From 1,020 officers budgeted for FY09, the Council cut 59 officers for FY10, leaving LB with 961 budgeted officers and without funding for a replenishment Police Academy class (17 recruits). This resulted in 944 budgeted officers (961-17=944).

All of the officers cut by the Council came from those providing citywide service. None of the cuts came from roughly 58 or 59 contracted officers (we've heard both figures) paid for by the Port, LGB, LBCC, LBUSD or LB Transit for services at those sites.

Although the 58/59 officers contracted to the Port/LGB/LBCC/LBUSD/LB Transit aren't routinely available for citywide neighborhood calls, city management continues to list them as part of LB's 944 budgeted officer total.

When management's 944 is adjusted to reflect the fact that 58/59 contracted officers are unavailable for routine citywide neighborhood police service, that means 886 officers are actually budgeted by the City Council for citywide neighborhood service (944-58/59 = 886/885, which we refer to as 886 below).

The 886 figure has now depleted further. As a budget balancing technique, LB city management offered senior officers early retirements; management says it expected about 22 officers to accept the offer; instead, 41 officers exited.

At the Feb. 2, 2010 Council meeting, LBPD management displayed a power point indicating that 22 budgeted positions are currently unfilled. [We presume those are from citywide, not contracted positions].

Subtracting 22 from the 886 budgeted citywide officers leaves 864 sworn filled positions. [This doesn't include officers out on disability or the like, a separate issue].

Thus, in terms of per capita police strength, by our calculation LB City Hall currently provides LB taxpayers with roughly 1.75 sworn officers per thousand residents. [864 sworn filled positions / 492.682 [population in thousands] = 1.75] [If management's methodology is used, which includes Port/LGB/LBCC officers, the ratio would be roughly 1.87/1,000].

These figures don't include coming officer retirements or exits expected this year. Unless a Council majority (normally five votes, six to override a Mayoral veto) approves some action that replenishes officers retiring/departing (via a Police Academy class or lateral hires or some other means), LB's current police level will become thinner.

City management has said publicly it favors starting a Police Academy class in FY11 [begins Oct. 1, 2010]...an action that (like all budget actions) would require approval by a majority of the City Council (six votes to override any Mayoral veto). At the Feb. 2 City Council meeting, city management indicated that the cost of a Police Academy class is roughly $2.3-$2.4 million. (Depending on class scheduling, it could be allocated to FY11 or FY12, although the latter is already challenged by an expected PERS related City Hall deficit).

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