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Home My WebLink AboutCOM 0139.002 2002-2004 4• Horace S. Nara, Chair r.°J' = ~ Dwight K. Manago, Vice Chan W': Harry Kim ` ~ " John M. Bertsch, Member Mayor Paul M de Silva, Member _ • Phoebe M. Lambeth, Member Be[sy Mitchell, Member ~~e_'M~~~ Walter Moe, Member Peter P. Muller, Member (~ulxnf~r of ~ttfuttii POLICE CObII~IISSION 25 Aupuni Street, Room 200 . Hilo, Hawaii 96720 Phone: (808) 961-8412 . Fax: (808) 961-8563 PRESENTATION TO HAWAII COUNTY COUNCIL MARCH 14, 2003 (by Police Commission Vice Chair Dwight K. Manago) We, the Police Commission, would like to make the following recommendations to the County Council: 1) Allocate $200,000 to the training budget. 2) Allocate $500,000 to the new equipment budget. 3) Fund 10 training positions per year. 4) Fund 6 new positions for the special hard drug task force. We would also like to support the two capital improvement projects that the department deems necessary for the safety of our community: RECElypp 1) New Police Station for the Puna District. '~`I~""-~~~-eY- 2) New Police Station for the South Kona District. Coumyi~C,ouod~j In the past, all of the departments have been asked to cut their budgets so that our I county would not have to incur a heavy debt that would lower our financial rating. The Police Department, like all the other departments, have slashed their budget to the bare minimum and can no longer function effectively if we do not restore the essential needs of the department. Training is an essential function of the department that will help to prevent needless lawsuits and injuries to our officers. In recent years, the training budget has been slashed from $150,000 to $75,000 and the consequence of this is reflected by the types of complaints that the Police Commission has been receiving. Officers constantly need to be retrained to update them with ways of handling complaints from our citizens, safety matters, new policing techniques, and laws. The years of neglect in training due to the reduction in the training budget has escalated the need for the entire department to be trained or retrained in one area or another. In fiscal year 1997-1998, our new equipment budget was $463,262, currently it is $119,000. The department has seen its equipment budget reduced on a yearly basis even though the cost of equipment has steadily risen over the years. We have six blu Z and whites that are no longer in operable condition due to the fact that p(7~s Fik Int. To: Fir_,~ Itet. Date_~R 1 4 2003 l~a~~ai'i Co~~~ Co~ar~ci! larch 1~, ~~3 gage Z repairs is amore than these; cam are worth. ~I~ division is c~rretly ~si~g ~ 3a-year old vary to i~~,~esti~ate a~~y of i~ ~~~or ~~ii~es~ ~l~ere are ar%~, ~~°es aid e~~ip~t that ire og,~td~~ted ~ ed replaced fo~° ~'epa~e~rt`s staff to ~~tork ef~c~etlq~s. e st ~r~Y~e t~:crio~ogy to make oar dent amore ~~.Se~t aid effe~vez The geed fir iarer ~~s~e€~t b~d~et ''€s ~perati~s~~ if ~e _ar~ to provide ~~~i~e~3s v~1~ ,~a~e t~~pe of ~e~ice they expect f~°or~ oar poi-ice ~epartme~te V11e c~rre~tly have 3~ _s~~r~ ~~acacies iry oar departr~er€t that i~cr~ases the aT`6loldrlt of o~,~ert~^~~ ~~~c~ ~~tr~i~de ~ fi~l ~{e~€~ i~ro ors of ~ryY, ~~e d€strgcto~;~iea has 1~~,:~. ~ ~ ogee, has ~p~t 1~,~~~ (15~e`®)€ ~=~e~e, ~~d 131,°~ (l~f~) i ov~t€~~e 'ors ~fffe~~~e p~a~~i~F this overt~€~~s c~#~ ~ ~~~d t~ appro~i€~ely a/®. ~f c~~refiy ~~s,~;1~ ~oth~ to repiac a~ of~or taho l~ir;~S t~8e d~arter~t. T~~rr~ the ~~ter~; of3lcerJ ~~fit ~~~or~ ovee to f~ va~:r~t pos~tior~. ~ tie past, ~e ha~~ host ~~,9erae of 15 o~ers per year d€~e to res:iatios aid retirere~ts. Last year ~e ~ officers, ~a~y to state aid fed aeos tit offer higher co€per~satsor~. ~e ~~~o€,~ld g~ke to recoe~d that ~o~r~ fed ~ trai~~r$~ pos~tior~s ~ year so that depae~t ~vo~,€!d have ~ of ~°aied officers to vaca~c~es ~€ediat~i5~~ rater tl?a€~ it~c~rri~g heavy o~Y~€e, ~f the d~:~;p~r~~et ~~car~t po~~tior~s'~o fo~€d the tra§:~ pos~tio~s, a!l tras~i f~~ds got to ~placa o~ers old ~~~~rr~ed to Co€~~~~~'s eral f~r~d. ~t r ~o ~~e ~4ao~ld ~~.e ~€~sed port~o~ of tl ~e fd ~se~d to f~~d otheA areas of thye ~olac°e ~eparber~t ~=did ~:ra€~€~~ ositios for dispatcl~ars si~o~d also ~fi-lined i. site are ~ereed $ri sa~i~ the ~:o~ty or~ey. ~e to the huh stress sit<~~~or~s that the dispatchers aye cesfrf~ iac~ tl~e a°it€o~ rats of dispatc~~rs is e~e~ly h~~~i. ~~spatcl-~ spuds apro~i~te~=~ ~0~~6 ~ year iii ovei~ne, tl~e h~~hest the depa~t~~t. il!!e recoc~a~d ~ddinc~ sip ~e5~ pos~miorls, which ~vi~i be lased specsf~c~l~y t® combat hard dregs, tl~€e pla~~e that h:s cost€€~~;~ ~etroye~ family, eves, aid co€~~~~es. ~"he ~~~€~t of Gres hive beep air€~3~ ~o Ord d~~~ i~ e~.re~ly fi~i~h ~€~d r=eeds to be addressed if ~~e ire provide ~ safe aviro~,~et for e clt~~e~ of oar Co~tyr. e ivest€~et these s~Nositio~s ~i~~ be ~ei~ '~~ortl'~ o€~~ ~o~ey. e g~ople r=eed fio ~o~ka that action is b~i~g ~e~ ~ stop these i~t~~sio~s ire cors~:^~€~r~ies and f ~ri~lll~~s. ~"he distr~ :t of P~~a !s ors:~ of the fastest g~ovvi~g corr~~rt~ities ii'i oar state. T"he ~eaau 'Force ~tatlvr+ is c®~pl~:l~ o~Z~ted _a~d seeds to l~ replaced. the stio~ that fuss b~,€ilt to spot ~x~e~~ve officers o~ ppo~ ~ officers aid ~K~o civi~lari staff. `mere is oily arse operate jai c~ , d the coditio~ of ~~he h~idi~~ ~s dplor.~ble. "~e€~bers of the ~o€r~~°~€~tty ~~~ot eater-the iidi~g to ale a copia~t Mess so~neo€~e from t~~e irkslde opus door t~ het to e gild is so cramped that there is r~o safe barrier ~~~ori the co~pla~~;a~t aid the officer or sttaff. e Hawaii County Council March 14, 2003 Page 3 women's locker room has men's lockers in it due to insufficient space. Their computer room in is the size of a utility closet. Words alone cannot describe the cramp quarters that the Puna officers are faced to contend with. The Puna district is the most dangerous district for our officers to work in, and is compounded by the poor working condition at the station. Anew police station should be built in this district to service the 31,335 citizens that live and work in this community. The South Kona police district has approximately 10,000 residents according to the 2000 census report. North Hilo and Hamakua has a combined population of 7,800, North Kohala 3,249, and Kau 3,699; all these districts have fully manned stations. The South Kona district extends from the 116-mile marker to the 84-mile marker (32 linear miles). For some residents the main station is 40-miles away. The South Kona district is patrolled with only 2 officers on every shift. There is no sergeant or supervisor on duty in this district on any shift. This district spans 884 square miles and is the largest district on the island. Comparatively, it contributes the most in property taxes and has the largest dollar amount of ongoing construction. The Kona police district needs to be separated into two districts to provide the caliber of service that is required. Anew station should be built and fully manned for the district of South Kona. Better communication should be established between the County Council and the Police Department. The Police Department should keep the council members apprised of new developments within the department and the communities. It should also inform the council of the department's financial needs and projects that are being planned for the future. The Council should ask for the department's recommendation when it is planning for the future of the department. By establishing stronger communication between the County Council and Police Department, the people of our county will be better served. We ask that the members of the County Council give our recommendations serious consideration when planning for the upcoming budget. The financial support that we ask you to consider is vital in providing a safer Hawaii County for our citizens. As our island grows we need to increase the protection of our citizens and guests to our island. We thank you for giving us this opportunity to appear before you to present our recommendation for the 2003-2004 budget, and we believe that you will do what is in the best interest for our county.