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Schenectady urged to hire 10-15 more police
Response time would improve, councilman says
Tuesday, July 28, 2009
By Kathleen Moore (Contact)
Gazette Reporter

SCHENECTADY — The police response time could fall to two minutes or less if the city hires another 10 to 15 police officers, Councilman Gary McCarthy told his colleagues at Monday’s City Council meeting.
He urged them to add the officers to the 2010 budget, at a potential cost of $1 million, including benefits.
“Show the public we’re serious about solving this problem,” he said. “It’s taken me a long time to come around to this … but unless we bite the bullet and spend that money and act in a way that makes a dramatic change in the community, nothing else we do will have the effect we want.”
He argued that the city could use a COPS grant to cover the first three years of the officers’ salaries and benefits. The grant requires municipalities to pay for the officers in their fourth year. McCarthy said that by that time, the officers would “easily” pay for themselves in additional tickets written and fines collected.
McCarthy has analyzed the city’s 911 calls and used them to determine how many officers would be needed to answer every serious call within two minutes, assuming each call would keep them busy for 45 minutes. He then factored in vacations, sick time and other leave.
The analysis proved to him that the department is understaffed, he said.
Mayor Brian U. Stratton said the department may need more officers — but that he won’t support hiring them until the police union agrees to a new labor contract that would allow him to get the “maximum use” out of the new officers.
“It would require, probably, some more police officers,” he said of McCarthy’s two-minute response time goal. “But it’s also going to require some changes. We want to ensure we have a contract that makes sure our dollars are well-spent. We want to get maximum use.”
The department is also struggling from vacancies due to alleged police misconduct. Seven officers are on paid suspension and face termination hearings that may start in August.
And Councilwoman Denise Brucker noted that other officers are leaving the department in droves — making it difficult for the city to train replacements quickly enough.
The city just sent nine officers to the police academy, but 25 officers will retire before those new hires are fully trained....................>>>>...............>>>>.............http://www.dailygazette.com/news/2009/jul/28/0728_morecops/

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Schenectady eligible for $1.8M grant to hire 8 cops, but mayor wants contract concessions, cost analysis
Tuesday, July 28, 2009
By Kathleen Moore (Contact)
Gazette Reporter

SCHENECTADY — The White House announced today that it will give Schenectady a $1.8 million grant to hire eight police officers.
But the City Council applied for the grant reluctantly in April and may not accept it. Mayor Brian U. Stratton said Monday that he wants labor contract concessions before he hires any additional officers.
Reached today, he said he might support the grant — but only if he’s sure the city could afford to pay the additional officers three years from now when the grant runs out.
“I’m very concerned about the long-term cost,” he said, adding that his staff will do a financial analysis and present it to the City Council.
“I want a thorough analysis,” he said. “I’m not saying no — I’m being very cautious.”
Councilman Mark Blanchfield, the most vocal opponent to the grant on the council, agreed with Stratton. While he wants the ongoing contract negotiations to lead to major reforms, he said he would be willing to hire officers without first finishing the negotiations...........>>>>...........>>>>>...........http://www.dailygazette.com/news/2009/jul/28/0728_cops/

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Schenectady might reject $1.86M
City considers turning down $1.86M because funds would dry up

By LAUREN STANFORTH, Staff writer
First published in print: Wednesday, July 29, 2009

SCHENECTADY -- Most municipalities would jump at the chance to get more than a million dollars.
     
But Schenectady is considering turning away $1.86 million in federal stimulus dollars announced Tuesday because the money -- which would have to be used to hire eight police officers -- would dry up in three years.

"The responsible thing to do is not hire the officers if you can't guarantee you can keep them," said Schenectady Mayor Brian U. Stratton. "It's not like we're refusing stimulus money. But there are strings attached and I want to make sure we're financially responsible."

Schenectady is one of 1,046 police departments nationwide, including Albany and Troy, that were approved to receive a total of $1 billion to hire or rehire 4,699 police officers.

The cities would have to promise to employ and pay for the officers' benefits and salaries in at least the fourth year and assign them to community-oriented programs.

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Editorial: Hiring more cops not the answer for Schenectady
Thursday, July 30, 2009

If hiring 10 to 15 more cops for the Schenectady police department really could cut response times by 80 percent, as City Councilman Gary McCarthy suggests, it would be worth the $1 million annual cost after a three-year federal grant ran out. But who is McCarthy trying to kid?
The problem with Schenectady’s police force isn’t so much that it lacks sufficient numbers; it’s getting the 166 already on the payroll to show up on a regular basis, then to do their jobs. But as almost any Schenectadian will tell you, neither has happened for years.
An overly generous contract gives the cops far too many opportunities for taking time off, and despite the burden it places on their fellow officers (to say nothing of the impact their chronic absenteeism has on crime) they take full advantage. A prime example is the time off for union business — 222 days last year — taken by PBA President Robert Hamilton.
Then there are the cops — seven currently — who are unavailable for service because of suspensions, having been accused of such things as driving drunk, leaving the scene of accidents, harassing their girlfriends, beating up prisoners, etc. And then there are those who take more time off than anyone in the private sector would ever dream of for legitimate reasons like dealing with a disability or grieving for a deceased spouse.
Even when they do show up, Schenectady’s finest aren’t always on the job. In recent years they’ve been observed doing everything from leaving the city to work out in health clubs, eat at restaurants or watch their kids bowl, to visiting the dentist to repeatedly disappearing inside a house for hours on end — all while on the clock.............>>>>..................>>>>.......................................http://www.dailygazette.com/news/2009/jul/30/730_prionts/

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