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Layoffs could have been avoided, Young says

Dayton City Manager Rashad Young

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Staff photo by Lisa Powell Dayton Police Chief Richard Biehl

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Staff photo by Skip Peterson Randy Beane, president of the Dayton Fraternal Order of Police

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By Joanne Huist Smith and Kyle Nagel
Staff Writers Updated 2:13 AM Thursday, July 9, 2009

DAYTON — City Manager Rashad Young said that if the city’s police union agreed to accept a proposed wage freeze and four furlough days, 11 officers slated for layoff on Aug. 3 would keep their jobs.

“They will not be laid off,” Young said.

Young and Police Chief Richard Biehl held a press conference Wednesday, July 8, to announce the layoff plans. Earlier in the day, the 11 officers and union leadership learned of the cuts.

The officers, who have a little less than a year of experience, were trained in the Dayton Police Academy and are “pretty devastated” by the news, said Randy Beane, president of the Dayton Fraternal Order of Police.

“We’re at desperately low numbers already, and the city leaders chose to ignore the safety of the people,” Beane said after exiting the meeting.

Beane said he would discuss Young’s statement with his membership and the decision on possible acceptance would be up to the membership. He said that the union doesn’t believe four furlough days are necessary economically and that the union was more open to discussing the wage freeze.

“We’re quite perplexed,” Beane said. “We’re kind of concerned about the ethics involved in doing this.”

Beane said the department has 396 officers before the pending layoffs. That number was already 99 officers short of the department’s recent standard of about 495 officers, he said.

Statewide, Ohio municipalities have one police officer for every 495 residents, according to a 2007 FBI report, the most recent available. Dayton ranks third among the state’s cities with 50,000 or more residents with the lowest officer-to-resident ratio, at one officer for every 398 residents. Only Cleveland (one officer for each 265 residents) and Cincinnati (one officer for each 300 residents) fared better than Dayton, according to the FBI numbers.

Young said the city is facing a roughly $6 million shortfall for the remainder of the year. He estimated that the job reductions in the Police Department will save the city approximately $773,000 a year. Which equals 1.5 percent reduction in the Police Department’s 2009 budget.

“Unfortunately, we are joining a growing list of other communities that have been forced to consider police personnel reductions as part of their overall cost-cutting moves, including Cincinnati, Columbus, Toledo and the Montgomery, Greene and Hamilton County Sheriff offices,” Young said.

While the FOP has stated that its membership is already 99 officers few than in recent years, Biehl said “we need to forget about the past.”

“I think that folks need to let go of that history. This is a different time, a different environment,” Biehl said.

In June, it was announced that continually falling revenues had left the city with a mid-year budget deficit of at least $4 million.

Lagging income tax revenue of $2.7 million and local government fund losses of $2.1 million, among other declining revenue streams, forced city leaders to take another hard look at the budget.

“These are very young, aggressive officers,” Beane said. “I have a hard time getting out of my mind the picture of city officials eating on the public dollar at catered events while they’re laying off police officers.”

Beane went as far as to say the union could explore a possible recalling of Mayor Rhine McLin.

“We believe the city is mismanaged,” Beane said.

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Thanks for all the support out there. I hope the FOP does not give into the city just because us "ROOKS" might be laid off. I am sure the FOP will vote against the furlough days, because they know we support them and do not want the layoffs to be used as leverage.

laidoffsoon
2:52 AM, 7/15/2009

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I am one of the soon to be laid off dayton cops. I gave the city almost two years of my life between training and the academy. I moved away from my family to try and make it through the process so i could support my daughter. Now I am speechless. I will go on serving the city until my final day, though. I know the FOP will NOT take the furlough days to save us "ROOKS". I hope to find employment elsewhere because I really do not see them taking us back later.

laidoffsoon
10:01 PM, 7/9/2009

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To the bozo wondering if Beihl or Plummer called the laid off cops, I got a better one, how many of their brothers and sisters in the lodges bothered to call, I bet less than 5%.

Bozo Watcher
8:38 PM, 7/9/2009

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Problems with Dayton:

1. McHatt/Young
2. Judges suspending; jail sentences, fines, and court cost.
3. Catering to the homeless including City Hall. (Im Hungry too, but I buy my own!)
4. Dayton City Schools

Positives about Dayton:

1. Police and Fire!
2. If Randy Beane was Mayor of Dayton

You can make a difference vote McHatt OUT/IMPEACH (whatever). Judges need to start heavly fining criminals. Criminal make more money selling drugs than the average working person.

OutsiderLookingIn
1:08 PM, 7/9/2009

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It always seems to me, that the police and fire are the first to go when things get tough, why not get rid of the non-essential fat such as the social services, welfare, and other programs that are an option not a necessity. Dayton has one of the highest crime rates per capita. Laying off police officers just tells the criminal elements it's open season.

Distressed
12:39 PM, 7/9/2009

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