Cops to council: "We can't afford cuts"

By JOHN STANG/Daily inter Lake

Police employees and Glacier High School's principal argued Monday against trimming Kalispell's police force.

"We can't afford cuts," Police Sgt. Alan Bardwell told the City Council.

Officers and one dispatcher told stories about how an entire on-duty shift of two or three officers responded to gun-wielding criminals and had to call off-duty officers from their homes for reinforcements.

The city's draft budget-cutting plan " which temporarily is tabled " called for trimming the police department's authorized strength from 36 to 32 officers. The department currently has 34 officers. The draft plan also called for cutting jobs of one dispatcher and a part-time animal warden.

A dozen officers and dispatchers showed up at Monday's council meeting.

Two officers, one dispatcher, retired police Chief Frank Garner and Glacier High Principal Callie Langohr spoke against cutting police employees.

"Do everything in your power to maintain those [current] levels," Garner said.

Bardwell said: "Nobody cares about budgets when a man is coming through your door and demanding your car keys."

Speakers noted that Kalispell's department has four Montana Police Officers of the Year and two more with high-ranking state honors.

Langohr pushed to keep school resource officers in the schools. One budget-cutting scenario calls for transferring school-based officers to full-time patrol duty.

The school resource officers generate good rapport with students and have been key factors in maintaining discipline and fighting drugs at the city's schools, Langohr said.

"The presence of school resource officers make a difference in our schools," Langohr said.

Roughly 30 firefighters made similar presentations to the council on Nov. 24.

The police positions, the jobs of three firefighters and the equivalent of 1 1/2 administrative workers elsewhere were on the chopping block in the draft budget-reduction plan. The fire department has 31 firefighter/paramedics who work in three shifts of eight to 10 people split between two stations.

The prospect of cutting firefighters and police officers bothered council members enough to stave off eliminating jobs from the budget " at least for now.

Council members instead told Interim City Manager Myrt Webb to tackle a predicted $466,000 general fund shortfall by cutting only non-personnel expenses. The city staff already has identified at least $181,000 in non-personnel expenses that could be cut.

Webb is to update the council monthly on the budget troubles. The next update will be next Monday.

Kalispell's general fund is in a major crisis because expected revenues have not materialized, most likely because of the slowed-down economy.

In September, the council adopted a $10.654 million general-fund budget. About 80 percent of the general fund pays for personnel costs, of which the police and fire departments are the biggest segments.

The council avoided dipping into its cash reserves to balance the general fund. Kalispell's cash reserves were roughly $474,000 in September.

But revenue in the city's latest budget calculations has decreased by $466,000 for fiscal 2008-09, which began July 1. Consequently, if the city government borrows from its cash reserves, it will be left with almost nothing in that rainy-day fund.

Webb recommended $568,000 " instead of $466,000 " in budget cuts based on the philosophy that no budget-trimming plan ever achieves every cut that it seeks. That $568,000 included at least $181,000 in non-personnel cuts.

Reporter John Stang may be reached at 758-4429 or by e-mail at jstang@dailyinterlake.com