Police Commish: We've Lost Almost a Minute in Response Time

(Editor's Note: The Garden City Board of Trustees heard from several village department heads during the Feb. 25 budget session, the first of three going forward. Garden City Patch is breaking down each department's requests in a series of articles. This first one highlights the Garden City Police Department.)

To serve a growing population of 2,000 residents, on October 1, 1919, the Garden City Police Department was established with 18 officers, three "Indian" motorcycles and one bicycle.

Today the department serves roughly 23,000 Garden City residents.

Police Commissioner Ernest Cipullo said 93 percent of the Garden City Police Department's proposed $8,444,853 operating budget is largely due to personnel costs dictated by collective bargaining agreements, while the remaining 7 percent is devoted to non-personnel costs, which, he said, the department has tried to pare down.

"The primary function of the police department is patrol," Cipullo said.

Five police officer positions were deferred in last year's budget. The commissioner would like to not only replace two of those five deferred positions but also replace three officers that have since retired under this budget.

"We still have two officers out on long-term, line-of-duty injury that will not be coming back," he said.

They are both scheduled for their independent medical exams on March 1. However, Cipullo said, if they're determined to be unable to function as a police officer, it would likely take about two months from the time they received their exam notification before the were actually off the payroll.

"We'd like to at least carry them in this budget until such time as they are off," Cipullo said.

If the department's proposed operating budget stands, the department would increase its patrol manpower from 50 to 52 officers; the department had 55 officers at last budget session, Cipullo said.

"This budget takes into account carrying those two positions until those two officers are off payroll," he said, adding that the salary increase would be $25,227 more when compared to last year's budget to fill those two deferred positions.

Police are projecting actual overtime for 2009-2010 at approximately $940,000.  Next year's request with a staff of 50 plus two officers on long-term sick/accident leave (who will not be replaced when their retirement is approved) is $718,890, Village Auditor Jim Olivo explained.

"How can we reduce that overtime number?" Trustee Dennis Donnelly asked. "Why wouldn't we add two more officers and go up closer to the 55 [officers] number, which was the full complement? It's got to be cheaper," Donnelly said.

There are two types of overtime for officers: the result of an arrest or court appearance and the other, known as structural, which is the result of sick leave or vacation, for example.

"If we add officers we will be able to fully staff our traffic squad, who are a revenue source for the village," Donnelly said.

Cipullo noted that the majority of overtime in a police budget is generated by police absence. "I think it would be less expensive to replace the police officers," he said, adding, "I can't tell you what that overtime figure is going to be because the police business is very unpredictable."

Total cost of police department personnel services amounts to $7,847,925, a $62,000-$63,000 decrease over last year's budget, while non-personnel costs total $588,928, an increase of approximately $16,886.

"We tried to hold the line as best we could," Cipullo said.

The department cut back on uniforms after realizing retiring officers left behind lockers full. "It will be on an as needed basis," Cipullo said. "If they need a replacement, we'll replace it."

Special programs, including DWI patrols and the child safety seat inspections, are all reimbursable through federal and state grants.

"We certainly are in tune to the economic situation and we also share the concern of the residents as to expenditures and the tax rate," Cipullo said. "We are taxpayers too so we understand what the problems are.

Cipullo continued, "It's of my opinion that if we lose something in public safety emergency services then I think all else fails. I think the residents are used to a certain standard of service and I think that they would certainly want that to continue. We're asking for a budget we think is operable to continue that service."

Cipullo believes reduced manpower and overtime cutbacks have resulted in nearly a minute lost in response time.

"It doesn't sound like a lot of time unless you have an emergency and you're on the other end having a heart attack or someone is trying to break into your house in the middle of the night," he said, adding, "We always prided ourselves in a two-minute response time in emergencies and now we're pretty close to almost three minutes. It doesn't sound like a lot but in an emergency situation it could be a life or death situation. "

The department has five patrol posts in its deployment; five officers serve day tours, five serve evening tours and four serve the midnight tour, along with a staff sergeant.

"Usually, on day and evening tours, we would turn out probably seven police officers. Now we're turning out five and six because we're trying to keep overtime down," the commissioner said. "We're employing minimum manpower.  Instead of seven or eight people on tour, we only have five people on tour. You lose there. If a man on a post is tied up, that post is vacant because he's on a call and you have to have another guy from another post assist him. It slows down response time."

The numbers surprised Trustee Laurence Quinn. "You're talking about a three-person difference and a minute or 50 percent slower response time. That seems tremendous," he said.

Cipullo said the cutbacks not only interfere with productivity but also eliminate services. First thing gone, he said, is the tactical squad, which responds to all special events to provide traffic enforcement.

"A good portion of the time, we're using those officers to fill in on the posts," he said.

Summonses revenue has decreased as well. According to Olivo, between January and December 2008, police summonses totaled $457,707. Between January and December of the following year, however, they totaled $304,366.

"They were way down because June through December of 2008, continuing through 2009, they were down corresponding to the manpower shortage in the department," Olivo said.

Parking fines, however, increased from $563,000 in 2008 to $682,000 in 2009, a result of 4,000 more tickets issued because the department has its full complement of police aides.

Oftentimes, though, those police aides are now being used on patrol posts because of cutbacks in manpower. "Most calls require two officers so right off the bat, you've got two officers tied up on most calls," Cipullo said.

Trustee Nick Episcopia suggested the board seriously consider creating a joint police department with the Village of Mineola, which, a few years back, looked into forming its own department. Nassau County currently services Mineola.

Episcopia said the idea came about during talks with Mineola Mayor Jack Martins, who said he pays the county close to $7.5 million for police protection annually.

Episcopia noted that Mineola, a village of 1.7 square miles, is within a "stone's throw" from Garden City's eastern and central sections and with health and medical costs rising beyond the village's control, it's something to consider.

"What I would propose is something that satisfies the needs of the Village of Mineola but not a wash," he said. "Not something whereby we just get some more police officers or we get some more staff and Mineola profits and we stay the same. Hardly."

Episcopia continued, "But if someone is paying out $7.5 million for minimal protection and we get together and provide better protection it's something we ought to think about. It's not going to happen overnight and maybe it can't happen but I think taking a look at the costs we've had to incur that we simply can't avoid going forward into the future, I honestly think this is something we should think about."

Cipullo, who was asked to serve on a committee years back when Mineola was considering its own force, said Mayor Martins might be including the headquarters tax in that $7.5 million figure.

"That sounds like an awful amount of money," Cipullo said. "He may be including the headquarters tax. It may not be just for patrol. It may be the headquarters tax and patrol, which we, as you know, pay too. Every village that has its own department does."