New Haven Register (New Haven, CT)
Police union warns about budget
Group: Mayor’s proposed cuts would lead to ‘chaos and disorder’
NEW HAVEN — The police union president is accusing Mayor Justin Elicker of allowing the city to devolve to “chaos and disorder,” given cuts to the Police Department budget, while the mayor characterized his remarks as “unfortunate
and irresponsible.”
Elicker, facing a $27 million increase in debt service over two years, a $1.4 million increase in pension payments and a grand list more than 50 percent untaxed because of Yale University and Yale New Haven Hospital, proposed a city budget that either cut, or reduced to $1 openings, 80 vacant positions. There have been no layoffs.
When the Board of Alders voted to cut $2 million more, Elicker increased the number of vacancies eliminated, or put into $1 placeholder status, to 101 positions, with 48 coming from the Police Department. The cuts save some $4 million in police salaries, benefits and associated costs, although overtime went up $1.2 million.
The police and fire departments have the most personnel in the budget.
The $4 million covers the
28 positions eliminated in the first go-around for a savings of $2.3 million; 14 positions funded at $1 for a savings of $1.1 million and the 7 positions added after the additional cuts were ordered by the alders for an estimated $500,000 in savings.
“With the beginning of the new fiscal year, Mayor Elicker’s message to the New Haven community was quite clear: you will have fewer cops on your city streets to deter rising crime. Shootings in the past 28 days have seen an increase of 116% in persons shot from this period last year,” Police Union President Florencio Cotto said in a statement.
Statistics kept by the Police Department show there were 13 shootings from June 8 through July 5, as opposed to six during the same period last year. By Friday night, there were three more shootings.
Shootings since the beginning of the calendar year through July 5 totaled 45, compared to 35 during the same period last year.
There were 52 robberies with a firearm from Jan. 1 through July 5, compared to 46 in that period in 2019; other robberies are 101 this year, up from 76 in 2019.
There have been eight homicides to date this year compared to six for the same period last year.
“The city will continue (its) new reality of increased violent crimes, and it will only worsen until elected officials witness the dangers related with cutting resources to the police,” Cotto said. He characterized the city as turning into a “war zone.”
“Without safe streets there is no economic development, no prosperity, and certainly no environment for academic pursuits. It is so ironic that the elected city leadership has so much disdain for the police, but when confronted by angry masses cower for cover at One Union Avenue while the fine men and women of the NHPD protect them,” the union president said.
Elicker said it is time to come together when the city is facing so many challenges “rather than misrepresenting facts and disparaging each other.” The mayor said Cotto, as a resident of Branford, lives in a town that has a tax rate “twothirds what we pay in New Haven. It is easy for him to say, just raise other people’s taxes. I don’t have that luxury.”
“Budget cuts mean very difficult decisions, plain and simple, because of the city’s deep and worsening financial challenges. We can either raise taxes or cut. I don’t want to do either, but as mayor I have to make difficult decisions and own them.” Elicker said.
Elicker, when he announced the additional cuts last week, said services would be affected, but that he tried to protect the most vulnerable.
He said the cuts to police, fire and some other departments “will strain our ability to provide the services residents require, but there have been no cuts to youth services and homeless services and only minimal cuts to other areas that provide critical support in this very challenging time.”
Majority Leader Richard Furlow, D-27, feels the city will continue to get the police services it requires.
“We have complete confidence in our chief (Otoniel Reyes) and in our Police Department that with the structure the mayor has ordered, we will be able to still provide the services from our public safety departments that our city is accustomed to,” Furlow said.
Reyes, in an earlier interview, said the police force now has 341 sworn officers, which includes 18 in the academy — though they will not hit the streets until April 2021 after they complete the 12-week field training operation.
On the budget issue, Furlow said aldermanic leadership suggested some other ways to make the additional $2 million in cuts, such as cutting contractual services, but he said that wouldn’t have saved much since those funds were needed to be able to negotiate in good faith with the unions.
He said there also was some talk of savings if staff were to continue working from home.
The additional $2 million cut was a compromise as the Finance Committee originally had asked for almost $4 million in additional cuts to the operating budget and did follow through cutting education by an additional $2.5 million.
“Ultimately, we put it on him (Elicker) because it is his administration and he should decide where he thought the savings would fit best,” Furlow said.
The majority leader said layoffs were not on the table, as the administration is always looking for businesses to come here to add jobs for residents. Laying off staff, given the record number of unemployed in the city and the country, would have been counterproductive.
“We are appreciative that the mayor did not go in that direction,” Furlow said.
In the wake of the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis while being restrained by a police officer, thousands across the country and in New Haven have protested police brutality and racial inequality, and have called for the defunding of police.
Furlow brought up a different perspective.
“The real argument is what number is really needed in the rank-and-file officers. I think this is a good time to experiment with that and see what the numbers really should be. Minus the protests ... what is the real number?” he asked.
“It is really based on what is happening throughout the city and the atmosphere of the city. I think that is what the chief is really working on, to get an idea of what that number should be. It varies from year to year,” Furlow said.
Furlow said the community has to make up its mind as to what it wants.
“So those who are protesting are going to have to really figure out what is it that they want, because to defund the police, means less police on the streets,” he said. “You can’t defund and then expect an officer to come when you call 911 in two minutes.”
Furlow said city officials felt the need to keep the budget as tight as possible because of the coronavirus pandemic and the uncertainty of what the future holds.
“We have not had a lot of unrest in New Haven. We are a fortunate city. We are an extremely fortunate state. We have a tremendous Police Department here, that has used tremendous discretion. Everyone is not perfect, but at the same point the majority of our Police Department are good men and women who want to serve the city. We are proud of them and we support them,” Furlow said.
He said if the budget as it now stands isn’t working, “we can always go back in and make amendments, if necessary, so right now, let’s see what is going to happen,” Furlow said.
The finances of the city are controlled by the Board of Alders. There has been criticism that the board put $2.5 million in anticipated additional revenue from Yale University without an agreement on that.
At this week’s Comp Stat meeting Reyes praised the members of the Police Department for their dedication and professionalism despite a national atmosphere of hostility toward police.
He said they “proactively address issues related to violence and they are placing themselves not just in harm’s way as they attempt to arrest people that they know are responsible for violent crimes ..., but they are doing it in the climate that exposes them to greater public scrutiny and personal risk to them and their families.
“When one moment you are touted as a being a hero for your unselfish work during the pandemic, and then over night you are condemned for actions you did not take and you are held responsible for systemic issues in society, I can assure you it impacts your psyche. I can assure you it impacts your ability to do your job effectively. But our officers continue to do just that. They manage protests with incredible restraint and composure and report to work and carry out their duties with professionalism. I think in any definition ... that is called character. We are proud of the character of this department,” he told the supervisors at the
Comp Stat virtual meeting.
Reyes said he wasn’t saying this to invalidate the demands for police reform. He said the department’s stance against police brutality is “well documented” as is “our willingness to do our part to not just change New Haven, but lead law enforcement change around the country. But I think it is important to say that we are not Minnesota. We are New Haven and we have come a long way to build relationships, to improve as a department to do better for our community and we should be respected for that. Law enforcement should not be painted with a broad brush any more than any one else should be.”