Call for cops

Diana Sahagun

Wednesday, Jan. 19, 2000 | 11:11 a.m.

Some North Las Vegas residents believe an audit of the city's police department proves they were cheated out of a promise to put more officers on the street.

The audit, conducted by Hughes, Perry and Associates, a San Francisco-based firm, was presented to the North Las Vegas City Council in a special meeting Tuesday night.

Although the audit chiseled out a way to deal with the now-defunct Safe Streets 2000 bill, several residents angrily pointed out that a tax increase did not provide more officers as they were promised it would four years ago.

Residents approved a tax increase in 1996 under the bill, but the program soon ran into financial difficulty and was unable to meet its goals. The tax hike raised more than $2.3 million in its first year and was designed to add 68 officers and 36 civilian employees by 2000 -- but the total number of officers originally promised was no longer feasible because of a built-in $1 million-plus deficit a year.

"We've been betrayed by whoever handled this," resident Glen Easter told the council. "We didn't get any more police on the street. How much more money do we have to give the police (department) to get more police on the street?"

The auditors said the police department needs to expand on the foundation provided by Safe Streets by creating a specific plan for staffing needs.

One way to accomplish this, the audit said, is to improve the recruitment and selection of police officers.

Police Chief Joey Tillmon said he is currently recruiting officers to replace a number who are retiring. But he hopes to go beyond just replacements.

"We want to test in March," said Tillmon, who has been chief for more than two years. "We used to just test once a year, but we're probably going to have to update to three or four times a year."

According to the audit, there were little to no funds for police officer recruitment in the 1999 budget. The auditors propose $40,000 be budgeted for officer recruitment and another $10,000 be budgeted for recruitment of civilian workers in the department.

The audit also found the department is understaffed, there are continuing vacancies in positions, and the department's building is inadequate. But Tillmon said the results were not surprising.

"I know what we do, what we've done, and what we need to do," he said. "A lot of it depends on funding. The (City Council members) have to trust me for that. You can't predict growth, and we got a little behind."

The council and department continue to work to find a site for a new police station.

According to the audit, the current station at 1301 E. Lake Mead Blvd. "totally lacks most basic requirements for a modern office facility ... and presents a poor image to public visitors to the department."

City Manager Pat Importuna said the council is considering a $44 million Civic Center expansion that would showcase a new courthouse, police facility and an addition to City Hall.

The audit also noted the rocky relationship between the City Council and Importuna.

According to the report, "There is significant distrust between the police department and its staff and the city manager and City Council. As a result communications appear to be limited. No one is on the same page and no vision or direction has been agreed to."

Importuna, who has held the position just over a year, said part of the communication problem has been due to the relatively new council, a new city manager and new police chief.

"We need to decide on policies -- that's where the misunderstanding is," Importuna said. "As a result of the changes, there has been no time to come up with an overall plan."

Tillmon said, "If they (council) know where I'm going, I'll know where they're going."

Outside audits also examined city government and the city detention center.