Bee Cave police chief requests two additional officers,

Bee Cave Police Chief Gary Miller is requesting two new patrol officers for the 2015-16 budget year for the city of Bee Cave.

During the Aug. 25 City Council meeting, Miller made his pitch for two additions to the fully staffed department that employs 17 police officers. Twelve of those officers regularly work the streets, Miller said.

Miller told the council that the ratio of crime-related calls to officers was higher in Bee Cave than in Lakeway, Sunset Valley or Rollingwood in 2014. That year, the number of crime-related calls per officer was six for Lakeway and 13.67 for Bee Cave, according to Miller.

“The good news is it’s more of the same type of stuff we’ve dealt with through the years – property crimes and suspicious activity,” Miller said. “Not instances of violent crime.”

Miller pointed out the city had certain areas and certain times of day that demanded more officer attention and energy because of a concentration of crime or traffic activity.

This year, Bee Cave police officers have made 220 arrests. Each arrest takes an officer out of the city for three hours while the suspect is processed in downtown Austin, Miller said.

“What you need to keep in mind is that normally during a shift there are two officers on the street,” Miller said. “All it takes to have both officers tied up is one accident on one of the major intersections we have in town.”

The cost of hiring two new officers would not include new vehicles or equipment beyond uniforms, Miller said. The council took no action during the meeting.

“I’m terrified of police departments ... financially because I’ve seen what they do to cities,” Council Member Bill Goodwin said. “I appreciate the science to your request. You make a good argument.”

Bee Cave Library Director Barbara Hathaway also made an appeal for one more full-time employee, but the council was less receptive to her request.

“Currently, we scramble to cover basic needs with part-timers, and when staff is on vacation, it really becomes a challenge,” Hathaway said.

Mayor Caroline Murphy said the city was constrained on how much it could spend on the library because the city does not have a library tax, but instead pulls funding from the city’s general fund.

City Manager Travis Askey ran through other items on the draft budget. The staff expects the city to take in some $8.1 million in revenue during the 2015-2016 budget year, and expects to spend $7.1 million during the year. The staff expects the city to finish the 2015-2016 budget year with $4.27 million in unassigned funds in the general fund.

The council will hold a public hearing on the budget, and possibly vote on it, Tuesday night.

Contact Rachel Rice at 512-445-3809.