Columnist Jeff German: Politics plays role in push for more cops

Friday, Feb. 28, 2003 | 5:04 a.m.

Jeff German's column appears Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays in the Sun. Reach him at german@lasvegassun.com or (702) 259-4067.

SHERIFF Bill Young has been in office for only two months, but he's already wise to the ways of politics.

His request for a whopping 25 percent increase in the Metro Police Department's budget for the 2003-04 fiscal year -- primarily to hire 389 new officers and 146 civilian support staff -- created quite a buzz in local government circles last week.

That's exactly what it was intended to do.

Young knew before unveiling his proposed $400 million budget that it would receive a cool reception from city and county leaders who, sitting as the Metro Fiscal Affairs Committee, fund the police department.

These officials are struggling to make ends meet with their own budgets and don't have the revenues to give the sheriff anywhere near what he has requested. It would take another $30 million from the city and $40 million from the county to boost the department's funding by 25 percent.

Young understands that the price tag for his proposed increase, which is nearly three times what former Sheriff Jerry Keller requested last year, is very high. Keller asked for a 9.1 percent budget hike and got 8.2 percent from the Fiscal Affairs Committee a year ago.

So don't expect Young to be too upset when he doesn't get everything he wants.

What the sheriff is doing here is launching the public relations campaign for an expected 2004 ballot iniative to raise property taxes to pay for more cops.

As last week came to a close, Young came clean on his political strategy.

"I don't know how you can go to the voters and ask them for approval for money for more officers if you don't go through the proper funding channels first," the sheriff said Friday, while his eye-catching budget proposal continued to make the rounds in government circles. "I think it's the right and reasonable thing to do."

It's also the smart political thing to do.

Young insisted that he's not trying to put local leaders on the spot.

"I know the city and county can't fund all of those cops in one fiscal year," he said. "They've got a lot of issues right now."

Young said he's hoping to get money for as many officers as he can in the budget request, and then he intends to take his case for additional cops directly to the voters in 2004.

Finding money in the budget to hire more officers to keep up with growth in Southern Nevada has always been a struggle for police.

Last year, Young said, Metro should have put 230 more officers to work, but only could afford 70.

The department estimates that if the proposed 389 officers came on board in the next fiscal year, Metro's ratio of officers per 1,000 residents would rise from 1.7 to 1.97. That still would leave Las Vegas far below the national average of 2.7, which is not good for a city that depends on a safe environment to lure 35 million visitors here each year.

The last time police mounted a ballot iniative was in 1996, when the voters overwhelmingly approved a property tax increase to pay for 450 additional cops. The increase amounted to $70 on a $100,000 home.

But a ballot question might not be so easily passed in 2004.

The voters surely will be put off by the massive tax hikes the Legislature is expected to enact this year to meet a $704 million state budget shortfall. A property tax increase might even be in the mix.

Then there are other negative economic forces at play, such as rising gasoline prices, higher insurance rates and larger copayments on prescriptions, that could cause the public to frown on any more tax increases.

And what happens if we go to war with Iraq and Las Vegas experiences layoffs similar to what occurred after Sept. 11, 2001? The taxpayers will be concerned more about their own economic well-being than whether we have enough cops on the street.

You can see now why Young feels the need to get a head start in presenting his case to the voters.

Politically, he has no choice.