BUDGET CUTS PROMPT POLICE TO AXE DARE

But first selectman sees move as an "emotional cattle prod" that warrants
further discussion among the police commissioners.

Madison fifth graders may no longer be offered the DARE drug education
program if a recent decision by the police chief goes forward.

Police Chief Paul Jakubson said the decision to cut the program was one
result of the reduced 2004-05 budget, which includes staff cuts of two
officers and $20,000 less in "replacement overtime."

In a meeting of the Board of Police Commissioners June 9, Jakubson
announced that he had just sent notice of the decision to the Schools
Superintendent and the chairman of the Board of Education.

DARE, which stands for Drug Abuse Resistance Education, is a program
offered across the country designed to teach children the skills necessary
to resist the pressure to use drugs or become involved in dangerous
activities or violence.

Taught by community-based police officers in a school setting, the program
is intended to be offered at three levels for maximum effectiveness: fifth
grade, eighth grade and high school. In Madison, however, the program has
only been offered in fifth grade.

Unlike many communities, where the program is paid for by the local school
board, in Madison, funding has come entirely from the police department
budget itself. In the 2003-04 year, that funding amounted to approximately
$7,000, which came from the "replacement overtime" account to pay for
police officers to cover the shifts of DARE officers while they are at the
schools.

Those critical of the program claim it has been ineffective in achieving
its goals. However, Officer Dan Hedges, one of the department's two DARE
instructors, has said numerous studies indicate the program's effectiveness
in reducing drug use, increasing peer resistance, encouraging communication
with parents and increasing positive views of the police. Anecdotal reports
support the program's efficacy as well.

For Jakubson, the decision to make the cut was not motivated by any
negativity for the program. Rather it was an "operational issue" of having
to reduce replacement overtime costs due to new budgetary constraints.

"The massive cut that was made in our overtime budget dictated that
something had to give," Jakubson said.

But Police Commissioner Emile Geisenheimer, who was appointed to the
commission at the end of February, strongly disagreed with Jakubson's
assessment of the decision as an operational matter to be determined by the
chief. While not necessarily advocating the continuation of the program,
Geisenheimer said he believed the matter should be discussed among and
determined by the police commissioners.

"To simply say, 'it's operational' and therefore it can be cut without the
advice of the board I think is improper," said Geisenheimer. "Because I
don't think it's operational. I think it's strategic."

Jakubson responded that he welcomed direction from the Board of Police
Commissioners and would cooperate if the board decided to countermand his
decision.

First Selectman Tom Scarpati, who sat in on the meeting in an ex-officio
capacity, also strongly disagreed with Jakubson's assessment of the action
as an operational matter and disagreed with his making such a decision
without board input.

"If you feel cuts have to be made or rules have to be changed, then you
have to pencil (them) down on a piece of paper, present it to the board and
let them decide, representatives of the people, let them decide which ones
should be eliminated, which ones should be modified, not you just do it and
send a letter and then wait for a countermand," said Scarpati. "I don't
even do that as the chief elected official."

In addition to criticizing the process used by the chief, Scarpati added
that the new budget cuts should motivate the chief and the board to figure
out how the department can become more efficient and provide all the same
services with less money, not to summarily cut out programs.

"Eliminating a child program like that is like a board of education saying,
'we're not going to have football next year' just to get a rise out of the
people," Scarpati said. "I think it's an emotional cattle prod, and I don't
appreciate it."

Sensing the tension between the parties, Commissioner Mike Heaney, who is
also new to the commission, called for everyone to put aside hard feelings
from the past and unite to work on the difficult task of dealing with the
tighter budget.

He disagreed with Scarpati's comments, however, of attempting to offer the
same services with less money and fewer officers.

"I would say that that expectation is nuts. It just doesn't make sense,"
Heaney said. "There are going to be fewer services offered by fewer
officers with less money, and that's a fact of life. That doesn't mean that
it's the end of the world."

Ultimately the meeting ended with no resolution on the matter, but the
board still has the option to address it again at future meetings.