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minutes 12-08-99Page 9 of 31
<br />BESS: Let me understand. Right now, under 7-2.2(b), you folks have the right to review the annual budget, and you can
<br />make your views known to the Mayor. And I’m a little confused. What you suggested would seem that you have the power to
<br />do that right now, under (b).
<br />J. HERKES: It does say that, and you would think that that is what we should be doing, and we’re not, unfortunately. By the
<br />time we get the budget, it is so close to it going to the Mayor and it being pau, that we don’t have that opportunity. We have
<br />not been involved with sitting down with the committees, or department, and going through the budget step by step. It has
<br />been handed to us.
<br />BESS: That’s interesting because it says the Police Commission shall review the annual budget.
<br />J. HERKES: And, unfortunately, when we have questioned this, we get conflicting reports from Corporation Counsel as to
<br />how far we can question.
<br />BESS: What are the limitations that the Corporation Counsel has suggested, as far as your review of the budget?
<br />SCHEELE: Well, I don’t know necessarily, specifically, about the budget, but there are a lot of things. We find it very
<br />difficult to deal with the Corporation Counsel when, on one hand you’ve got one Corp Counsel person representing the
<br />department, and one representing us, and they never agree. And we’ve been told by Corp Counsel that if we don’t do what
<br />they suggest that we do, then if we get sued, we’re on our own. And my feeling on that is, first off it’s a bunch of baloney,
<br />but secondly, then why do they need any of the Boards and Commissions, if the Corp Counsel is the one making the
<br />decisions. But that’s specifically what a Corp Counsel that we had, told us. Our Corp Counsel says one thing, and then the
<br />Chief goes and talks to his Corp Counsel, and then we’ve got them - so, I’d like seeing, which is a little bit off, I’d like to see
<br />us with either an Attorney General assigned to us, or the Commission having the power to hire their own attorney, and not get
<br />caught up in some of this.
<br />J. HERKES: And also - excuse me. Getting back to the budget, there have been times that the Police Department has been
<br />asked to cut back their budget. The first area, or one of the first areas, I believe, that they do come to is us. And our budget, I
<br />think, is very reasonable, and we could actually do a lot more if we had the opportunity, first, to have our own General
<br />Counsel and not use Corp Counsel, and have it budgeted into a budget that we, alone, would be responsible for. I think we
<br />would be better served and so would the public.
<br />RAY: Steve.
<br />BESS: So, what you’re suggesting is that (f) be, again I’m looking at 7-2.2(f), where it authorizes you to hire personnel
<br />necessary to carry out its functions, that you would include in that, to make sure everybody’s clear, that you would want the
<br />authority to hire your own attorney?
<br />J. HERKES: Yes. Right now we do have our own investigator that we contract for, and I think that because there’s a
<br />tremendous conflict between Corp Counsel advising the Police Department and advising us, that we very many times butt
<br />heads.
<br />RAY: John.
<br />SANTANGELO: Thank you. I think obvious, that we’re talking about here is the balance of power and understanding that
<br />we have a paramilitary organization, and I think sometimes we get carried away thinking it’s all military, and fighting the
<br />para part of it, and the Commission is supposed to be bringing in that civilian influence. When you talk about hiring your
<br />own attorney, it says hire personnel necessary to carry out its functions, but then, and I understand how the budget process
<br />works, so your budget then, a lot of times, what you’re given is, kind of, too late for you to mess with too, right? And this is a
<br />way of controlling it. I’m wondering if there’s some way in which you can establish the minimum personnel budget so that at
<br />least you know you’re always insured that. Have you talked about that?
<br />SCHEELE: We haven’t, but I would, personally, not like to hire an attorney. I would like to be able to have an attorney, like,
<br />on contract or something like the way we have the investigator. We don’t need an attorney sitting around all the time waiting
<br />to do something. I’d like to have it where it’s on a contract basis for attending our meetings, and advising us, and when we
<br />needed something like that, because that’s the way we have the investigator.
<br />SANTANGELO: I’ll go right to the crux of it then. This is a turf fight, in a way, and we’re just trying to balance this
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