05/11/05 Budget Study - Laserfiche WebLink

Home Browse Search

Budget Study Session May 11, 2005 gathered was to educate herself and she is not sure of her role in that regard. She still has information but has not received directive from colleagues to stipulate any particular role or exercise, so she does not know what should come from this effort. Perhaps the full Council needs to clarify this. Her question was about the three police vacancies about to occur and whether the ranks of offices eliminated was the same, or if the ranks varied across the spectrum? Mr. Ollendorff said it was across the spectrum, although he budgeted senior officer vacancies, with higher pay. Typically, there are two retirements per year, but he does not know how many there will be this year. The other source is loss of officers to other departments which pay better. Those also tend to be senior officers with higher salaries. He gave examples of things that happened in the past and how it affected the budgeting. Mr. Wagner said that Washington University “denying any recompense for our services was outrageous” and he encouraged the City Manager to advise them strongly that this is not acceptable. He said that doubling, not cut-back, was what was needed. He does not agree with the figures provided by Washington University and said University City police have answered “hundreds of police calls” along Kingsbury Boulevard and into the neighborhood where there is an “undergraduate campus.” He asserted strongly that something must change and that he would recommend a resolution after the City Manager looks into the situation. Councilmember Colquitt said her concern was that there may not be enough officers to cover the “street activity in the northeast quadrant” during the summer, and Mr. Ollendorff said there will definitely be a reduction in service, but it will be during the non- peak times and reductions will not occur when there is demand for coverage. Reallocated assignments will enable response to the most serious call, without any reduction. Ms. Colquitt questioned how this would affect the area and said it is not “good”. Ms. Brungardt said an idea was presented in Executive Session recently and should not even be on the table if this kind of activity is going to “start taking place on Washington University’s playing field.” If they want to talk about their suggestion, they need to make and keep “good faith agreements” with the City in advance of anything else. If they start breaking those down, the City will need not negotiate with them about their suggestions. Ms. Welsch had two questions. The first one was whether Clayton had received a similar letter and Mr. Ollendorff responded that they have not. The only financial arrangement he was aware of, between Washington University and Clayton, was a contractual arrangement for fire protection. The University is not covered by any fire department. The second one asked if they had a relationship with the City of Saint Louis in the Debaliviere area where the students live, and Mr. Ollendorff said that there could be, but not to his knowledge. He provided some details about how the University deals separately with cities surrounding it and that the information is “privileged.” Page 2