Alexp
12-15-2008, 11:01 PM
Credit goes to theerant.com
By TOMMY HALLISSEY
Mayor Bloomberg, who has already cancelled a January police class, said Dec. 9 that the scheduled July class is no longer a certainty as his budget chief sought an additional 7-percent spending cut from all city agencies. The Mayor's remark at a press conference came the same day that Budget Director Mark Page forecast a new budget gap of $1.3 billion for fiscal year 2010, which begins July 1. "We're not going to have the next police class; we'll be very lucky to have any police class next year," Mr. Bloomberg said. The January Police Academy class was canceled in November as one casualty of the economic crisis caused by the tremors in the financial services industry.
Tell NYPD to Outline $286M Cut
Mr. Page asked agencies to make an additional seven-percent budget reduction for fiscal 2010 on top of the five-percent he previously prescribed for that year. The Police Department must chop $286 million as its share of the latest retrenchment, which is shared across all agencies.
Even before the new demand for cuts, the July class was expected to be sharply scaled back from a planned hiring of 2,000 rookies to a maximum of 700.
PBA President Patrick J. Lynch said of the budget cuts, "The NYPD is already 5,000 police officers under strength and any additional cuts to staffing would put public safety and economic viability at risk. If additional budget cuts are necessary, the city should make them in the many non-emergency, non-essential services it provides."
Speaking at a Manhattan Sanitation Garage Dec. 9, the Mayor reiterated that since he could not reduce city workers' salaries, most of which were upgraded 4-percent annually by recent contract deals, he would be faced with the possibility of laying some of them off instead. "The next round of cuts will be reductions in personnel, because there is very little left to cut in the budget," the Mayor said. "We have gone through all of the low-hanging fruit and there is nothing left to do but actually downsize."
In an attempt to stave off layoffs, City Council Speaker Christine Quinn has proposed transferring 360 police officers from administrative duties to policing and hiring the same number of civilians to fill their spots. That would save nearly $10 million in fiscal year 2010 because the civilians are less costly than uniformed staff, essentially reversing a cut the NYPD has proposed. The alternative budget proposal takes no position on either police class.
Would Wipe Out Cadet Corps
The plan, which would cut the NYPD budget by $2.1 million next fiscal year, would be phased in over an 18-month period. Also proposed is the elimination of the NYPD Police Cadet Corps Program, which provides qualified college students with full-time summer and part-time school-year employment for Cadets in the program, for a savings of $1.3 million next fiscal year.
On top of that, Ms. Quinn proposed a 1-percent tax on the value of private security-system contracts that link into the city's 911 system. Another part of the proposal is the reduction of the department's advertising budget by $3.5 million in fiscal 2009 and $7 million the following year.
"As we navigate our way through the financial crisis, we must compensate for budget shortfalls with an aggressive but sensible approach to spending reductions," said Speaker Quinn in announcing $500 million in additional and alternative spending reductions that would reduce the fiscal 2009 budget by nearly $170 million and the following year's budget by more than $325 million. "We must take the long view as we approach this and future budgets, so that we will avoid the mistakes of the 1970s and minimize the impact on our city."
The other big-ticket item in the Council alternative NYPD budget reductions is a 10-percent reduction in uncommitted overtime that would save the city $12 million in 2009 and $24 million the following year. Also included in the plan were the proposed reduction of additional resources for the purchase of steroid testing materials, as well as for ammunition and counter-terrorism equipment and a reduction in the department's information technology maintenance.
By TOMMY HALLISSEY
Mayor Bloomberg, who has already cancelled a January police class, said Dec. 9 that the scheduled July class is no longer a certainty as his budget chief sought an additional 7-percent spending cut from all city agencies. The Mayor's remark at a press conference came the same day that Budget Director Mark Page forecast a new budget gap of $1.3 billion for fiscal year 2010, which begins July 1. "We're not going to have the next police class; we'll be very lucky to have any police class next year," Mr. Bloomberg said. The January Police Academy class was canceled in November as one casualty of the economic crisis caused by the tremors in the financial services industry.
Tell NYPD to Outline $286M Cut
Mr. Page asked agencies to make an additional seven-percent budget reduction for fiscal 2010 on top of the five-percent he previously prescribed for that year. The Police Department must chop $286 million as its share of the latest retrenchment, which is shared across all agencies.
Even before the new demand for cuts, the July class was expected to be sharply scaled back from a planned hiring of 2,000 rookies to a maximum of 700.
PBA President Patrick J. Lynch said of the budget cuts, "The NYPD is already 5,000 police officers under strength and any additional cuts to staffing would put public safety and economic viability at risk. If additional budget cuts are necessary, the city should make them in the many non-emergency, non-essential services it provides."
Speaking at a Manhattan Sanitation Garage Dec. 9, the Mayor reiterated that since he could not reduce city workers' salaries, most of which were upgraded 4-percent annually by recent contract deals, he would be faced with the possibility of laying some of them off instead. "The next round of cuts will be reductions in personnel, because there is very little left to cut in the budget," the Mayor said. "We have gone through all of the low-hanging fruit and there is nothing left to do but actually downsize."
In an attempt to stave off layoffs, City Council Speaker Christine Quinn has proposed transferring 360 police officers from administrative duties to policing and hiring the same number of civilians to fill their spots. That would save nearly $10 million in fiscal year 2010 because the civilians are less costly than uniformed staff, essentially reversing a cut the NYPD has proposed. The alternative budget proposal takes no position on either police class.
Would Wipe Out Cadet Corps
The plan, which would cut the NYPD budget by $2.1 million next fiscal year, would be phased in over an 18-month period. Also proposed is the elimination of the NYPD Police Cadet Corps Program, which provides qualified college students with full-time summer and part-time school-year employment for Cadets in the program, for a savings of $1.3 million next fiscal year.
On top of that, Ms. Quinn proposed a 1-percent tax on the value of private security-system contracts that link into the city's 911 system. Another part of the proposal is the reduction of the department's advertising budget by $3.5 million in fiscal 2009 and $7 million the following year.
"As we navigate our way through the financial crisis, we must compensate for budget shortfalls with an aggressive but sensible approach to spending reductions," said Speaker Quinn in announcing $500 million in additional and alternative spending reductions that would reduce the fiscal 2009 budget by nearly $170 million and the following year's budget by more than $325 million. "We must take the long view as we approach this and future budgets, so that we will avoid the mistakes of the 1970s and minimize the impact on our city."
The other big-ticket item in the Council alternative NYPD budget reductions is a 10-percent reduction in uncommitted overtime that would save the city $12 million in 2009 and $24 million the following year. Also included in the plan were the proposed reduction of additional resources for the purchase of steroid testing materials, as well as for ammunition and counter-terrorism equipment and a reduction in the department's information technology maintenance.