It depends.
The first 18 officers the Mayor added to the budget would start on May 27th and would cost the city $49,500 per officer for the first year they work for the City. That cost includes salaries, benefits, overtime, supplies, uniforms and equipment. These officers would not be on the street until February 2009.
The second 12 officers that the Mayor added to the budget would start on February 25 and could cost the city $67,045 per officer for the first year. These officers would be available June 2008 because we are hiring experienced officers that will be going through an accelerated academy.
However, the costs of these same officers in 2009 will be $71,025 regardless of whether the officer is hired in February or hired in May. This cost is calculated as if the officer was hired at the first of the year, but excludes all one-time equipment purchases.
So, while we can (barely) afford these officers the first year (as long as the rest of the City sacrifices things that are needed in departments across the City), it is not clear that we will be able to sustain this budget over time. This year’s budget is tight, next year and the following year will be even worse when there are additional costs for these officers and no TIF windfalls to fill the holes in our budgets. In short, this decision is short-sighted and simply not sustainable.
