REPRIEVE SOUGHT FOR POPULAR PROGRAMS

Solutions Include Hiring Retired Police Officers

Plans to subject some popular city programs to the budget axe -- including
youth drug- and crime-fighting efforts and before- and after-school
recreation programs -- are getting a second look from councilors in just
the second week of their budget study.

Tuesday's budget review session had barely begun before City Manager Isaiah
Hugley was asked to place the DARE, Conditional Discharge and GREAT
programs on a list that could lead to their continuation, instead of
abolishing them as recommended in the proposed $184.5 million city budget.
Shortly after, Columbus Juvenile Court's youth diversion program was tacked
onto the "drop and add list" for possible return to the budget.

Columbus Police Chief Ricky Boren told councilors he did not lightly reach
his recommendation to shut down those youth drug-, gang- and
crime-prevention programs. Shutting them down would help him with his main
objective -- "putting more officers on the street to answer 911 calls," he
said.

Release of the sworn officers required to staff those programs would allow
him to add 12 officers to the streets, but the proposal is "a double-edged
sword" because it would terminate programs aimed at preventing crime,
especially among young people, Boren said. But with a staff that is 33
officers short, raiding such programs and aggressively recruiting qualified
applicants are key ingredients to relieving the manpower shortage that
affects the time it takes to answer citizens' calls for help and the
ability to investigate crimes in a timely manner, he said.

Councilor Evelyn Turner Pugh told Boren he had complied with council's
request by compiling an effective budget proposal for his department. "The
burden is in our lap now," she said.

Pugh instructed Hugley and the city attorney's office to explore whether
retired police officers could be hired to staff the crime-prevention
programs, allowing them to continue.

Councilor Gary Allen said State Court judges Andy Prather and Maureen
Gottfried have urged councilors to continue the crime-prevention programs.
They have indicated they are willing to increase court fines or fees to
help offset costs of continuing them, he said.

Boren said Juvenile Court Judge Aaron Cohn also urged continuation of the
Juvenile Diversion Program, which now is staffed by four officers and a
sergeant. There's no doubt about the effectiveness of the program, he said.

Boren also was assured by Mayor Bob Poydasheff and councilors that the 10
police officer positions cut from the department's proposed budget was a
reduction on paper only. If the department is able to hire enough recruits
to require those positions to be reinstated during this budget year, they
will be added back to the department and funded through a mid-year budget
adjustment, the mayor said.

Hugley said the decision not to fund 10 officer positions of 388 authorized
for the department was made after reviewing statistics showing that during
the last seven years, the department operated with no less than 22
vacancies at any time.

Break-even point

Among other programs impacted by budget cuts that would require 129 jobs to
go unfunded beginning July 1 are before- and after-school programs at
campuses where fewer than 20 parents sign up, Hugley said. At least 20
participants are the break-even point in those programs, and some sites
have fallen below that minimum, he said.

The programs that would be cut from the list for lack of support based on
current participation include Downtown Elementary, Edgewood Elementary,
River Road Elementary, Forrest Road Elementary, Wesley Heights Elementary
and Gentian Elementary. If a program next fall meets the required number of
participants, it would be continued, Hugley said.

Other cost-cutting measures in the proposed budget include reducing the
operating hours at city pools, recreation centers and Cooper Creek Tennis
Center.