This article was in the paper, I thought it may interest some due to some information regarding current layoff list, etc......
Police want money for overtime;
Union opposes grant match plan
TELEGRAM & GAZETTE (Massachusetts)
November 18, 2003 Tuesday, FINAL EDITION
- The local police union opposes the city's planned use of state community policing money to fund its match to a federal grant that will be used to hire 50 new police officers.
Instead, the union wants the community policing money used for overtime so more officers can be immediately deployed to neighborhoods where crime has been rising.
Union leaders believe the city can then use surplus money in the Police Department's salary budget to match the federal grant.
They contend there is more than $400,000 surplus in the police salary account. The city administration disagrees with that, contending that the salary account is on target for a year-end deficit of about $150,000.
Officer Richard P. Cipro, president of Local 378, International Brotherhood of Police Officers, said the union opposes using the state community policing money as the match to the federal grant because it could be more than a year before those 50 new officers join the Police Department.
Because the city will use a $3.75 million federal grant to hire new police officers, it is required by state law to first offer the positions to police officers who have been laid off in other communities throughout the state. There are 95 laid-off police officers on the state's re-employment list.
City Manager Thomas R. Hoover hopes to hire 50 police officers from that list and have them on board in March. But Officer Cipro said it is highly unlikely the city will be able to get 50 officers from the re-employment list to accept jobs here.
As a result, he said, a new recruit class would have to be planned to make up the difference, and it could be 14 months before the members of that class are selected, trained and finally put to work on the street.
''We can't afford to wait that long to meet the policing needs in some of our neighborhoods,'' Officer Cipro said in a telephone interview last night. ''There is a crying need for more police patrols in several areas like Main South, near the PIP (People In Peril) shelter, in the Piedmont area and even in Green Hill Park. People want these additional patrols and they should be provided now.
''Community policing grant money is available for us to increase patrols in those areas through overtime,'' he added. ''That is the only answer. But we won't be able to do that if the city manager is going to tie up the community policing money to help pay for these 50 new police officers. It could be months before we see some of them.''
Mr. Hoover said the cost of 50 new police officers starting in March is about $1.05 million for the balance of this fiscal year. The federal grant will pay for about $650,000 of that cost, and the city will contribute $400,000.
To help fund the city's match, Mr. Hoover said, he requested approval from the state Executive Office of Public Safety to use $300,000 of this year's community policing allocation for that purpose. He said the state approved that request.
Mr. Hoover said the balance of the state community policing money for this year will be used for foot patrols in the Vernon Hill and Green Island neighborhoods, among other things.
Officer Cipro has sent a letter to the City Council outlining his union's opposition to the city manager's plan, which will go before the council at its meeting tonight.
Officer Anthony M. Petrone, vice president of Local 378, said he cannot understand how the city administration projects the police salary account will end up with a $150,000 deficit this fiscal year.
Since the start of the fiscal year, he said, there have been 17 retirements and four other officers have been on military leave.
''What happened to the savings from these retirements and the four officers on military leave?'' Office Petrone asked. ''We have met with the city administration and asked that question, but we feel it has not been properly answered in our opinion. How can our analysis and the city administration's projection be so far off?''
In a previous report, John P. Pranckevicius, city budget director, said when the police budget was put together for this year, it already took into account savings from four expected retirements and one full-year military leave.
In addition, he said, four civilian clerks who were laid off this year have been recalled.
Police want money for overtime;
Union opposes grant match plan
TELEGRAM & GAZETTE (Massachusetts)
November 18, 2003 Tuesday, FINAL EDITION
- The local police union opposes the city's planned use of state community policing money to fund its match to a federal grant that will be used to hire 50 new police officers.
Instead, the union wants the community policing money used for overtime so more officers can be immediately deployed to neighborhoods where crime has been rising.
Union leaders believe the city can then use surplus money in the Police Department's salary budget to match the federal grant.
They contend there is more than $400,000 surplus in the police salary account. The city administration disagrees with that, contending that the salary account is on target for a year-end deficit of about $150,000.
Officer Richard P. Cipro, president of Local 378, International Brotherhood of Police Officers, said the union opposes using the state community policing money as the match to the federal grant because it could be more than a year before those 50 new officers join the Police Department.
Because the city will use a $3.75 million federal grant to hire new police officers, it is required by state law to first offer the positions to police officers who have been laid off in other communities throughout the state. There are 95 laid-off police officers on the state's re-employment list.
City Manager Thomas R. Hoover hopes to hire 50 police officers from that list and have them on board in March. But Officer Cipro said it is highly unlikely the city will be able to get 50 officers from the re-employment list to accept jobs here.
As a result, he said, a new recruit class would have to be planned to make up the difference, and it could be 14 months before the members of that class are selected, trained and finally put to work on the street.
''We can't afford to wait that long to meet the policing needs in some of our neighborhoods,'' Officer Cipro said in a telephone interview last night. ''There is a crying need for more police patrols in several areas like Main South, near the PIP (People In Peril) shelter, in the Piedmont area and even in Green Hill Park. People want these additional patrols and they should be provided now.
''Community policing grant money is available for us to increase patrols in those areas through overtime,'' he added. ''That is the only answer. But we won't be able to do that if the city manager is going to tie up the community policing money to help pay for these 50 new police officers. It could be months before we see some of them.''
Mr. Hoover said the cost of 50 new police officers starting in March is about $1.05 million for the balance of this fiscal year. The federal grant will pay for about $650,000 of that cost, and the city will contribute $400,000.
To help fund the city's match, Mr. Hoover said, he requested approval from the state Executive Office of Public Safety to use $300,000 of this year's community policing allocation for that purpose. He said the state approved that request.
Mr. Hoover said the balance of the state community policing money for this year will be used for foot patrols in the Vernon Hill and Green Island neighborhoods, among other things.
Officer Cipro has sent a letter to the City Council outlining his union's opposition to the city manager's plan, which will go before the council at its meeting tonight.
Officer Anthony M. Petrone, vice president of Local 378, said he cannot understand how the city administration projects the police salary account will end up with a $150,000 deficit this fiscal year.
Since the start of the fiscal year, he said, there have been 17 retirements and four other officers have been on military leave.
''What happened to the savings from these retirements and the four officers on military leave?'' Office Petrone asked. ''We have met with the city administration and asked that question, but we feel it has not been properly answered in our opinion. How can our analysis and the city administration's projection be so far off?''
In a previous report, John P. Pranckevicius, city budget director, said when the police budget was put together for this year, it already took into account savings from four expected retirements and one full-year military leave.
In addition, he said, four civilian clerks who were laid off this year have been recalled.