Wednesday, April 22, 1998 | 9:58 a.m.
The numbers that Las Vegas City Councilman Michael McDonald used in discussing Metro's proposed budget on Monday are wrong, according to Metro Police Sheriff Jerry Keller.
"They're inaccurate," Keller said. "I don't know where he got them from."
Keller previously said he would make a public statement about the wrong numbers on Tuesday, but decided instead to discuss them at a Wednesday morning press budget briefing.
McDonald was the first member of the City Council to question Metro's fiscal 1999 budget request for $70 million -- an 8 percent increase -- at Monday's budget workshop meeting. Both Clark County and the city are responsible for funding Metro, along with about $50 million in tax override funds approved in a ballot initiative last year.
He cited a top-heavy administration as his biggest concern. According to McDonald, Keller has doubled his management staff while adding only 100 patrol officers.
"You can't pay enough for safety, but we need to make sure we aren't building kingdoms," he said.
The Council also asked city staff to look into hiring an outside auditor to examine Metro's finances.
Keller said he was surprised the City Council was taking issue with Metro's budget request -- especially since it's never been turned down before.
"I sent a letter to all of the City Council requesting an opportunity to present the success of the last year," he said. "I made my staff available to their questions about the budget. None of them have called."
McDonald said that Keller intentionally left him off the distribution list for Metro's budget at City Hall. Although McDonald cannot vote on a Metro budget because of the conflict of interest, he can discuss it.
And discuss it he did, asking several questions that he wanted city staff to have answered including the need for 22 new police cars in Laughlin.
When questioned about new patrol cars, Keller said that Laughlin has 35 officers -- most of whom drive back and forth from Las Vegas every day -- and the force needs the extra cars to keep the city protected. He couldn't get more specific, but did say that McDonald's complaints about the lack of patrol officers in the Las Vegas was unwarranted.
"Of course we don't have enough officers," he said. "That's why we just asked the public for some funds last year."
Keller made a presentation on Tuesday to the Clark County Commission stating several statistics about Metro's successes. Commissioners had nothing but glowing praise for Keller and his department.
"You can really see the difference it's made," Commissioner Erin Kinney said.
Though county commissioners aren't openly griping about Metro's request, police officials themselves are expressing alarm over their budget situation.
An April 4 memo to supervisors at Metro's Northeast Area Command from Capt. Randy Oaks reflects the budget constraints Metro is under.
"We, LVMPD, are in the RED. We have a shortage of funds to cover the expenses for running this operation for the remainder of this fiscal year," Oaks wrote. "We must all do our part to get through this crisis."
Keller said Oaks wasn't writing the complete truth when he distributed the memo.
"Every year, we go into cost containment," Keller said. "His choice of words aren't my choice how he conveys this to his operational troops. We're certainly not outside the bounds of the budget."
Both Keller and McDonald deny that this recent rift is the result of a long-standing feud between them.
"Just show me the books," McDonald said.
"My door is always open to the councilman," Keller said.
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