Council OKs seeking federal funds for officers, withholds final approval

The Maricopa City Council gave Public Safety Director Patrick Melvin the go-ahead to seek federal funding for three new police officers during Tuesday’s meeting. But the matter isn’t closed as Melvin will have to take the extra step of returning to the council to get final approval on hiring the officers if the grant is awarded.

The federal funding through the Community Oriented Policing Services Hiring Recovery Program would pay for the officers’ salary and benefits for three years (see related story). The program requires the city to keep the officers on staff for a minimum of a year after the grant ends, and the projected cost for the three positions in that fourth year is $217,383.

That amount brought forth much debate as several members of the council questioned whether Maricopa could afford the additional future expense in the face of the recession and declining revenues. Councilwoman Marquisha Griffin expressed concern that adding the additional officers’ pay to the city budget might cause other programs to be delayed or eliminated due to a lack of funds. Councilman Marvin Brown said when the COPS hiring program was first offered in the 1990s, many municipalities scrambled to find ways to pay the officers once the grant expired, only to invariably cut the positions after the fourth year. He asked Melvin if that was going to be the case this time.

“I wish I could tell you in three years that the economy will be 100 percent back and we will retain these officers,” said Melvin, adding the police department’s need for help was great enough now that he couldn’t pass up an opportunity to gain three new patrol officers.

Two members of the city’s Public Safety Committee, Alan Marchione and Peg Chapados, spoke out against the proposal, saying while they were in favor of increasing the city’s public safety, the cost was simply too much.

“Fiscally, it’s nice to have four years of service for one year of pay,” Chapados said. “But given the current hiring freeze the city has and given the future, I think gambling with a quarter of a million dollars is a gamble we can’t afford to take right now.”

Griffin suggested amending the agenda item to allow the council to vote on giving Melvin permission to apply for the grant before the April 14 deadline while requiring that the council receive final approval on the contracts, if awarded. The city is starting its budget review and Griffin wanted to make sure the council had a better chance to gauge whether Maricopa could find funding for the new officers by 2012.

Grants Manager Mary Witkofski and City Manager Kevin Evans were both amenable to the change, and the council voted 5-1 to approve the request, with Brown voting no. Councilman Joe Estes was absent.

In other matters, the council also approved creating three subcommittees with the idea of helping increase communication between the council and city staff in the areas of personnel and benefits; marketing; and budget and finance. Evans said he had a great need for the three groups immediately, particularly with the budget review looming and he added they would also be taking a hard look at possible changes to city employees’ benefit packages.