15 percent jump asked for Metro Police budget

Cathy Scott

Thursday, Feb. 26, 1998 | 10:16 a.m.

The cost of policing in the Las Vegas Valley is going up, according to a budget submitted by Metro Police.

Metro's annual budget is increasing nearly 15 percent from last fiscal year. The $212.3 million 1998-99 budget, up from last year's $187 million budget, is necessary because of growth in the valley, Metro comptroller Lois Roethel said at Wednesday's Fiscal Affairs Committee meeting at City Hall.

But a 1997 bond issue approving a property tax increase to pay for new cops offsets the budget increase, Roethel said.

"With that special property tax, the city and county are only hit with an 8.7 percent (budget) increase," she said.

Sheriff Jerry Keller told the committee that 450 officers being hired over the next four years would probably put the officer-to-resident ratio at 1.7 percent.

"We're probably operating at 1.5 percent (today)," he said.

The earlier goal of two officers for every 1,000 people probably would not be met because of the number of people moving to the Las Vegas Valley each year, Keller told the committee.

"We're a long way from two," he added.

Included in the new budget are 46 new civilian positions, Roethel said.

"We probably have one of the highest civilian rates in police departments because the benefits are cheaper (to pay)," Roethel said after the meeting. "We use civilians wherever we can so we can put police officers on police tasks. We've civilianized to a greater degree than most other agencies."

Also included is a $3 million upgrade to Metro's communications system, which is in year two of a three-year plan.

The committee on Wednesday approved forwarding the budget to the Las Vegas City Council and Clark County Commission for recommendation. It will go before the Fiscal Affairs Committee again on March 16 for final approval, Roethel said. Per state law, it must be adopted by April 1 of each year.