Got Some Questions About Next Fiscal Year's Budget? Well, Mary Suhm's Got Some Answers.

Categories: City Hall
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This Friday, shortly before the council goes on summer vacation, we'll get our latest peek at City Manager Mary Suhm's FY2011-12 budget "snapshot," following the mid-May look-see that said she's still around $60 million short of funding the need-to's. Speaking of: Last Friday Suhm sent to council a lengthy memo consisting of budget Q&A's dealing with everything from rec-center and pool closings to the need for further layoffs to cop-to-resident ratios, the latter being one of the key issues separating Mike Rawlings and former Dallas Police Chief David Kunkle.

The whole memo, contained in a stack of others sent by City Hall this morning, follows. But since there was that story this morning, let's look at how Suhm answers council's questions about funding the DPD:
How will not hiring for full attrition in police department affect the 3 per 1000 goal?

Currently the department is at approximately the 3 per thousand goal. Effective FY2011‐12 and beyond, it is anticipated that the ratio will trend from 3 per thousand to approximately 2.8 per thousand using the hiring schedule currently proposed, but through reassignments, the number of officers assigned to patrol will not decrease during FY2011‐12.

Please chart out for 5 years the number of officers that we will have in‐service.

The attached chart (Attachment B) anticipates hiring 50 new officers in FY2011‐12, and hiring for anticipated attrition (200) in FY2012‐13 and beyond in order to maintain adequate call answering staff in Field Patrol.
That attachment also follows, as does a seven-page list of every single fee charged by the Park and Recreation Department for those keeping score at home. June 3, 2011 Memos
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LaceyB
LaceyB

I was gonna say...who's gonna be there on Sundays after 10pm to answer my anonymous domestic disturbance calls when Urban Taco is being obnoxious with their "Geez, does that GD music really have to be so GD loud that my apartment shakes" speakers still bumping, and who will be there to ticket those bastards?Geez, I think I'm starting to sound like Schutze.

J. Erik Jonsson
J. Erik Jonsson

I know the 3/1000 thing is all the rage, but there are several big cities that get much better law enforcement results with much lower ratios.  Seems worthy of study in the time of tight budgets.

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