Metro: City wrong on cutting costs

Keith Paul

Wednesday, Nov. 17, 1999 | 10:33 a.m.

The Metro Police Department, in a polite and measured response to a city of Las Vegas study identifying more than $4 million in cost savings, says many of the city's conclusions are flawed, and in one case illegal.

On most of the issues raised in the city's Nov. 2 study, Metro's response, released this morning, says there would be no savings or the potential savings are unknown because the city's study was based on incorrect information or assertions.

Metro Police countered the city's 150-page study packed with suggestions of cutting costs and streamlining the department with about 325 pages of point-by-point reasons the savings were just not there.

Word that the city was doing the study sparked weeks of speculation last month that the city wanted to pull out of the combined police force. That speculation ended before the report was released after Mayor Oscar Goodman announced deconsolidation would not be considered.

In its response Metro agreed with the city's assertion that there needs to be greater communication.

"Improved communication with open, direct and accurate exchange of information will serve to promote the interests of public safety shared by all of us in this community," Sheriff Jerry Keller said in letter accompanying Metro's response.

Keller could not be reached this morning for further comment.

Las Vegas City Manager Virginia Valentine pointed out the need for more conversations and shared information in a cover letter to the city's report.

"Communications between the city and Metro should be free of suspicion and innuendo," she wrote.

Goodman and Valentine had no comment on the department's response, which they received this morning, city spokeswoman Marcia Holmberg said.

While the city's study concludes the city is owed about $850,000 annually from $2 million in crime-related forfeitures that Metro collects and sends to a separate county fund, police say giving the money to the city is illegal.

"Even if the state statute were altered, a portion of the forfeitures are derived from federal asset sharing, which is governed by a similar set of federal law," Metro's response says.

The city study claimed $300,000 a year could be saved -- with $100,000 savings to the city -- by not using retail fuel outlets and saving on other vehicle costs. The city also concluded that there would be a greater crime deterrent if more marked police cars were on the street.

Metro responding first by pointing out the department has 1,288 vehicles with 677 marked police cars -- 52.5 percent of the fleet -- not a 1,400-vehicle fleet with only 35 percent marked police cars as the city said. The Metro response also says the department has contracts with retail gas outlets in the city at below retail prices, which eliminates drive time to a central fueling location and saves money.

As far as the $800,000 the city would save by Metro eliminating redundancy in management, the department says "$0 would be saved since the administration and support staffing is lean."

The city study identified the Air Support/Search and Rescue as a regional service that perhaps only the county should be funding, saving the city about $400,000 a year. But the Metro report says the thinking that the unit only performs search and rescue in rural areas is flawed.

The unit's time for rural searches accounted for only 4 percent of the total hours flown with the rest of the time in support of "urban police missions."

Metro's $239 million budget is funded with $173 million paid for by the city and county and $66 million from other sources.

The city allocated $73.2 million and Clark County allocated $99 million. However, when the city's part of a tax override and debt service on new facilities is added, city residents give Metro $96.6 million, or roughly $220 per citizen, the city study says.

The city thought it could save as much as $900,000 a year if indirect and administrative support costs for the county's jail were excluded from the budget. Metro admitted there is no way to know if there are any savings, "but cost shifting would be exceedingly complex and likely to result in some costs being shifted back to the city in the process."

However, the Metro response said a review should be done to see if indirect costs could be be shifted.

Metro does agree that the department should have a police headquarters and not lease space at various offices, but says crediting the city or the county for contributed space is not provided for in the statute that created the force.

A DMG Maximus audit conducted in 1998 at the city's request determined Metro was among the most highly regarded police departments nationwide in terms of management strategy. The auditors concluded a second phase of the study was not necessary.

But the audit also recommended that Metro establish a set of performance measures and report to the City Council on a quarterly basis.

Metro has since shared quarterly reports with the city and county, Metro spokesman Lt. Marc Joseph said.