Town Hall meeting for Zones 2 and 4

Cindy Rushefsky and John Wylie are hosting a Town Hall meeting for Zones 2 and 4 tonight at the Brentwood Branch Library Community Room, 2214 Brentwood Blvd.

The meeting is for residents of those Zones, central and northeast and central and southeast, but it's open to the public. It starts at 7 p.m. and is planned to last till 9:00 p.m.

Present to discuss city issues and answer questions will be:

City Manager Bob Cumley
Police Chief Lynn Rowe
Traffic Engineer Earl Newman
Parks Director Jodie Adams
Economic Development Director Mary Lilly Smith
City Utilities Associate Gen. Mgr./Electrical Supply Scott Miller
Public Information Director Louise Whall

For more information about upcoming City meetings and events go to Community Free Press - Midweek and select the City of Springfield hot link in the left hand side bar.

City Government Growing, Police Department Faces Consolidation

Regarding City Council Bill 2007-225, written about here.

For clarification, Police Chief Lynn Rowe intimated at the last Council meeting (view here) that this was a change he had been contemplating and that with the loss of two Majors recently at the Police Department the consolidation of two divisions, in essence, puts two more officers on the streets of Springfield.

It's good management on the Chief's part.

My complaint is that it was necessary.

My complaint is that our community is in the position of losing officers and having to combine divisions to spread the resources of the department to better serve our community.

The Community Free Press - Midweek (CFP), July 4 issue, quotes Rowe as saying,

"“We may potentially be down 40 to 45 officers over the next six months or so.”" (Read here, page 4, CFP Midweek - Archive Issues)

In the same issue of CFP, Rowe is quoted as saying:

“I can’t say we haven’t had officers leaving our force and going there (St. Louis and Kansas City), because, typically, they pay more.”

and:

“We lose so many to other departments, the Highway Patrol, and federal agencies. Perhaps it would have made a difference were we able to pay them more.”

There is a reason we are losing officers and Rowe has been put in the position of needing to streamline the Springfield Police Department in an effort to reduce the Department's Personnel budget.

It just seems to me that we should be getting to the root of this problem. The City should remedy it before we find Rowe's department down another 40-45 officers six months from now.

If the City doesn't act soon I wonder which divisions will be consolidated next?

In 2006, City Manager Bob Cumley was paid $181,201.

Assistant City Manager, Evelyn Honea was paid $137,947.

Recently, though at least one council member questioned the necessity, another Assistant City Manager was added to the City's payroll.

Our City's governmental body seems to keep growing while our City's Police Department is facing reduction.

That's just something to think about. Isn't it?

City Council Agenda, item of interest

Council Bill 2007-225

Submitted by Police Chief Lynn Rowe, approved for Council action by Assistant City Manager Evelyn Honea (some paraphrasing):

Proposal to:

Section 1:

...delete one full time equivalent position of Police Major, LES-15; delete one full time equivalent position of Police Captain, LES-13, and add two full time equivalent positions of Police Lieutenant, LES-12.

Section 2:

...delete one full time equivalent position of Administrative Assistant, PAT-4, add one full time equivalent position of Office Administrator, PAT-5; delete one part time equivalent position of Office Specialist, PAT-4, add one full time equivalent position of Office Specialist, PAT, PAT-4.

Purpose:

...to improve efficiency in the Police Department.

Remarks:

...to better utilize budgeted salary resources, the Police Department is proposing to eliminate a Police Captain and a Police Major position and re-structure so that there will be three opperating divisions instead of four.

Those salary savings will fund two additional Lieutenant positions to be used ot provide additional field supervision. It will also allow an upgrade for one part time Office Specialist to a full time position...and upgrade one Administrative Assistant position to an Office Administrator position. Both of these non-sworn support positions will help the operation of the new Division that will be created as a result of the merge of the Administrative and Support Services Divisions.

These changes will result in a small savings in the Personnel Budget and can be accomplished within the Police Department Budget for fiscal year 2007-2008.

Okay, so the Chief of Police is proposing to consolidate and merge Administrative and Support Services Divisions so that a division can be cut and a small savings gained to stretch the Police Department's budget for the year.

What I find disturbing is that the Chief of Police is forced to juggle and eliminate a division, consolidating others, to save money in the Police Department's Personnel budget AFTER the City Manager's office insisted it had to fill another Assistant City Manager position when the budget for Springfield was being debated.

Meanwhile, Conrad Griggs wrote an editorial column for the Springfield News-Leader championing a 1% sales tax for funding a police/fire pension fund that he thinks should be discontinued after supporting it throughout his years on Council by voting it into its current underfunded condition.

AND, Vincent David Jericho is reporting this morning (July 12, 2007, KSGF Podcasts > ) that the City runs the garage responsible for police cruiser repairs and upkeep, collects a better than market price for providing the service to the police department and the revenue they make from the auto shop goes right back into Springfield's general revenue.

Wouldn't it be nice if the City of Springfield got its priorities straight?

Wouldn't it be nice if City Managers were as willing to tighten their belts and ferret out savings, making sacrifice if necessary as is the Chief of Police?

I don't know how Chief Rowe continues to manage such loyalty to a City which CLEARLY doesn't regard his department as a priority.

It isn't enough that the City failed the police and fire fighters by not funding their pensions, and I don't care how complicated the issue is, bottom line, we have a police department that ranks among the lowest in the nation on pay and benefits, has sacrificed raises to see the police/fire pension fund be funded and then it isn't funded anyway, THEN we find they are having to sacrifice a division at the department to make ends meet.

Oh, and of course, city staff recommends approval .