COM 0150.020 2012-2014 - Laserfiche WebLink

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Honorable J Yoshimoto And Members of the Hawai`i County Council Page 3 May 2, 2013 Additional Police Officers Police presence in the communities of Puna and Ka`u has lagged behind the overall population growth in those communities. Growing populations in these communities have resulted in dramatic increases in calls for police assistance from the public. The Puna district alone encompasses 686 square miles, and residents and visitors made nearly 29,000 calls for service to police in 2012. Dispatchers prioritize calls in the interest of public safety, and the large distances our officers must patrol at times results in long response times for non-emergency calls. If this shortage of officers is allowed to continue, it could pose an unacceptable risk to public safety. This budget proposes to add five police officers in Puna and another five officers in Ka`u at a total cost of$588,688 for the coming fiscal year to address this issue. This proposed budget would also include $302,000 for police computer replacements to improve efficiency, and $158,884 in new funding for maintenance including investment in video surveillance cameras to protect public safety. Fire and Ocean Safety Additions to the Hawaii Fire Department budget will advance our efforts to improve fire staffing levels and modernize the equipment used by our first responders. That includes $168,000 for new front-line fire-pumper trucks for fire stations in Honoka`a and Kea'au. The replacement of both vehicles is a pressing need. Also included in this budget request is funding for 12 new firefighters for the next fire recruit training class to fill longstanding vacancies within the department.The additional personnel will allow the department to reduce overtime costs, and will also make more manpower available for large incidents such as brushfires and natural disasters. We are requesting$83,000 for salaries for two additional water safety officers at Punalu`u Beach Park in Ka`u. Currently this park is staffed with one water safety officer who works weekdays. The additional staff will significantly improve public safety at this increasingly busy ocean recreation area by ensuring an officer will be on duty each day, seven days a week. The proposed budget also includes $300,000 for six new ocean safety towers to better protect both residents and visitors in our beach parks. The existing, aging wooden lifeguard towers were designed for a single water safety officer, but the current county system now calls for two lifeguards to be on site at many tower locations. The new towers will provide better work space for our officers, and improve visibility to increase public safety. County of Hawai'i is an Equal Opportunity Provider and Employer.