Topics for Discussion at the Public Safety Review

I want to propose a couple of talking points for the upcoming workshop on Public Safety.  As we review public safety our objective should be two fold; to provide the best service we can and to deliver that service as cost effectively as possible.  Before I get into those talking points, let me state why I think both are important.

The infrastructure of our city has been neglected.  We have a boardwalk that numerous studies tell us will require substantial investment.  Roads and drainage are a mess.  But when citizens complained about the condition of our streets it was proposed by a councilmember that the only way we could accelerate improvements was thru a special tax assessment.  The money isn’t in the budget to fix our streets.  Employee costs alone are eating up close to $30 million of the budget each year.  And those are only the soft costs.  We haven’t bought a board or a piling or a piece of sewer pipe yet.

Instead of asking “how much more do you need this year?” we should be asking “how much do you need to get the job done?”  It’s good to start with a zero based budget but that assumes we’re already operating efficiently.  The Mayor stated that the budget will reflect the expectations of the citizens for public safety, but does anyone know what those expectations are?  And is anyone asking how we can meet those expectations more efficiently? 

So I suggest department heads be asked to submit a budget that cuts 5% from last year, and justify any expenditure that goes above it.  If we can meet the need with a 5% reduction in cost it would mean an additional $3.5 million a year that could be appropriated towards ongoing maintenance of infrastructure, or an additional $35 million we could borrow to invest in it.

Let’s start with the Police Department.  We have 11,000 residents and 58 fulltime policemen.  In fact we have almost as many fulltime policemen now as we did when our population was 17,000.  Do we really need 58 fulltime policemen in the off season?  A good percentage of our population heads for a warmer climate in the wintertime and our true population in the winter is probably closer to 8,000.  According to the International Association of Chiefs of Police the average number of police per 1,000 residents for a town our size is 2.  There are 4.3 per thousand in Philadelphia.  Are we that lawless a town that we need all these policemen?  Does staffing well beyond our need make us that much safer?  What are our options?

As for the Fire Department could we provide superior services at less cost to the city by contracting out emergency services?  By having a for-profit like Atlantic Care operate as a satellite here and provide ambulance and emergency services?  The costs of those services are typically paid for by insurance.  So why is the City providing those services at cost to the taxpayer?  If that won’t work to our benefit do we have other options?  Do we really need 3 fire stations?  Could we get better response times by having EMT’s operate under the Police Department?  Can we save money by implementing shared services? 

Compensation is another huge issue.  According to a city report that lists employees by cost center we have 105 people working for the City making 6 figures or more with pension costs.  Over 200 are making $70,000 or more.  Veteran fulltime police and fireman are costing the City about $113,000 a year and we have a lot of them.  According to the Bureau of Labor and Statistics the average salary for a fireman is $47,850.  There is close to $1 million dollars being paid out in overtime in the Police and Fire departments alone.  Does this sound like operational efficiency to you?  What kind of model is this?

These are some of the questions our city officials need to be asking at the Public Safety workshop.  Can we arrive at a meaningful model change in a two or three hour workshop?  You claim to be serious about public safety and how you spend taxpayer money.  Why not prove it?

We need more citizen involvement before anything will change in this town.  Attend the Public Safety workshop this Thursday (11/14) 6:000 PM at the Library.