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WHEREAS, Since the beginning of the New Year, as of February 8th, there have been 39 homicides in 39 days; and
WHEREAS, Unfortunately, this chilling statistic is a continuation of the recent, steady and dramatic increase in homicide rates in our City -- with 311 homicides in 2001, 349 in 2003, and a staggering 380 in 2005; and
WHEREAS, While homicide rates have increased, the number of uniformed police officers has decreased. In Fiscal Year 2005, the City budgeted for 6,910 uniformed police officers; however, by the end of that fiscal year on June 30, 2005 only 6,512 of these positions were filled. And, the proposed financial plan for Fiscal Year 2007 projects only 6,424 such positions and shows zero growth in the size of the police force over the life of the five-year plan; and
WHEREAS, The size of the police force has implications on the number of police who are actually "on the street." In Fiscal Year 2001, on average, 6,070 police officers were on the street; however, by Fiscal Year 2005 there were only 5,859 on-street police officers; and, the current projection for Fiscal Year 2007 is 5,660; and
WHEREAS, According to a 2004 PICA report, Philadelphia's percentage of on-street police officers is among the lowest of major U.S. cities; and
WHEREAS, Police response times have been compromised as well, with an actual priority response time of 6 minutes, 11 seconds in Fiscal Year 2001, and a projected response time of 6 minutes, 23 seconds for Fiscal Year 2007; and
WHEREAS, In response to the increasing number of homicides and violent drug-related crime, Mayor Street launched "Operation Safe Streets" which cost the taxpayers over $77 million in police overtime between Fiscal Year 2002 through March of 2005; and
WHEREAS, The Mayor recently announced the launching of "Operation Safer Streets" and has proposed an additional $10 million in police overtime to fight crime and violence; and
WHEREAS, The reliance on overtime by the Police Department for enhanced police coverage by a force that has been reduced by 400-500 officers over the past few years can result in severe burn-out of the Department and put our own police officers at risk due to the stress of long days and nights on duty; and
WHEREAS, This additional $10 million proposed by the Mayor for overtime could be used to pay for the first year cost of 170 new police officers; and
WHEREAS, Rather than solely relying on police overtime to respond to the rising violent crime rates, the City needs to invest these same dollars by increasing the size of the police force, thereby having sufficient uniformed officers for a more strategic deployment plan that responds to the City's crime patterns, while also insuring that there is an adequate number of police officers to provide for the overall safety of all Philadelphians; now therefore
RESOLVED, BY THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF PHILADELPHIA, That we hereby propose an amendment to Bill No. 060003 which provides for the Operating Budget for Fiscal Year 2007 and a corresponding amendment to Res. No. 060019 which provides for the Five-Year Financial Plan to increase the budget for the Police Department to allow for the hiring of an additional 250 officers over a three year period.
PROPOSED AMENDMENT
BILL NO. 060003
Amend Bill, Page 3, Section 2.12 to read as follows:
2.12
TO THE POLICE DEPARTMENT
Personal Services ----------------------------
$483,147,601
$487,817,196
Purchase of Services -------------------------
7,425,445
Materials, Supplies and Equipment -------
7,584,765
Payments to Other Funds -----------------
339,330
_____________
Total
$498,497,141
$502,166,736
FY07-FY11 Cost of 250 Officers -- Phased in Over Three Years
FY07
FY08
FY09
FY10
FY11
Total
Cost of 85 Officers Added in Year 1
4,669,595
5,279,545
5,656,584
6,033,748
6,284,939
27,924,410
Cost of 85 Officers Added in Year 2
0
4,791,071
5,279,545
5,656,584
6,033,748
21,760,948
Cost of 80 Officers Added in Year 3
0
0
4,509,244
4,968,984
5,323,843
14,802,071
Total Cost
4,669,595
10,070,616
15,445,372
16,659,315
17,642,530
64,487,429
End