Community Corner

Cuts Would Lay Off 5, Possibly 6 Officers

Police commissioner says 4 percent reduction in personnel will make the department "reactive rather than proactive."

Garden City police commissioner Kenneth Jackson appeared frustrated, even saddened, by the reality of the village board's latest directive, which is to reduce his personnel costs by 4 percent.

He presented the police department's revised spending plan to village trustees Wednesday in a tense budget session at village hall.

Jackson was candid in his remarks, stating the additional cuts will make the department "reactive rather than proactive" and would likely have a detrimental effect on the safety of village residents.

"I am not in favor of this," he said. "I truly believe the police department is the reason why this is one of the safest communities around and I strive to make it even safer. Reducing the police department by six officers, in addition to the six reduced in recent years, will seriously compromise that effort."

He added, "I've been a police officer for 32 years, 28 in Garden City. I came here for a reason. I wanted to make a difference. I feel I have. I've been supervisor for 22 years. I think I have a good idea how to run an effective police department and truly care for the residents I serve. I hope the board assists me in maintaining that quality of service."

Currently, the department is authorized at 52 officers with two vacant positions.
Both vacant officer positions, along with a vacant dispatcher position and an anticipated detective retirement, were removed in the previous 3 percent cut, Jackson said. The additional five to six officers are now part of the 4 percent cut.

This leaves the complement of officers at 49; laying off five or six officers would bring it down to 44 or as low as 43 officers.

The layoffs would directly affect the department's five patrol posts. "Five squads would be down at least one officer and three squads possibly down by two officers," Jackson said.

The layoffs could also "drastically reduce" traffic enforcement, foot patrols and residential patrols, he said, while programs like speed enforcement and commercial vehicle inspections could be either eliminated or drastically impacted.

Revenue will take a hit too. Over the past year the department has seen a 23 percent increase in traffic tickets and brought in approximately $1,300,000 in revenue via traffic enforcement and parking tickets.

This figure would significantly change since tickets from the traffic division could be reduced as much as 75 percent if six out of eight officers are reassigned to patrol. "Patrol is priority," he said.

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