Fire Chief Ray Jones teams with Police Chief Rick Braziel for a joint appearance at Crime & Dine. |
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CUTS LOOM BUT CRIME IS DOWN. CHIEF SAYS, “WE’RE NOT FRESNO.”
******************************************************************* Sacramento Police Chief Rick Braziel and Fire Chief Ray Jones addressed plans to save jobs and keep emergency personnel working at minimum staff levels, at the February Crime & Dine luncheon.
In the mandate to reduce SPD’s budget by 5% or $6.4M, the Chief is facing a force reduction of some 67 full time employees in a department already among the lowest in the country in terms of officers per capita. Braziel told Alliance members that negotiating with the Police Officers' Union for a citywide pay freeze to prevent any layoffs. The union approved his plan which now must be ratified by rank and file members.
“Sacramento is the most understaffed compared to any other city in California,” said Braziel. “People compare our budget to Fresno’s, but we’re not Fresno. Sacramento is surrounded by multiple incorporated jurisdictions, it ties with LA and San Francisco for protest demonstrations, and it has a huge homeless and transient population. Fresno has none of that, yet we have the same number of police officers.”
With a proposed $5.0 million cut for the Fire Dept, Chief Jones said it struggles to limit brown outs (decreased staff) while keeping response time to five minutes or less. “Some responses can take up to six and a half minutes,” he said. Police now only respond to crimes in progress.
The good news is that crime stats are down since 2005 in the Power Inn Area. In a report by Lt. Mike Bray, business burglary decreased from 118 to 50, while petty theft saw 105 reports in 2005 to 49 in 2008. Only vehicle burglaries increased from 45 to 57, mainly due to expensive objects left in view. (See the report on line at the link below).
For crime stats, click here. |
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Mayor Kevin Johnson will be the keynote speaker at the 15th Annual Awards Luncheon, March 19 at Sac State Alumni Center. |
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TABLES FILLING FAST FOR FIFTEENTH ANNUAL AWARDS LUNCHEON
******************************************************************* Seems everyone wants to hear Sacramento’s new Mayor talk about his plans for the City, especially the Power Inn Area, as registrations for the 15th Annual Awards Luncheon on Thursday, March 19 are going fast. The Mayor has always been a participant at the Lunch and made brief remarks, but this is the first time he will also be the keynote speaker.
“I’m really looking forward to this event, “Mayor Kevin Johnson recently told The Alliance’s Dawn Carlson. His address, along with remarks from 6th District Councilmember Kevin McCarty, will highlight this annual membership gathering to recognize major accomplishments and development of area organizations and individuals.
Among the awards this year will be those for “Best Infrastructure Development,” “Best New Development,” “Business of the Year,” and “Member of the Year.” In addition, the second annual “Top Cop” will be presented to a local officer whose accomplishments represent the outstanding efforts of the entire police force assigned to this area. Last year’s “Top Cop” was awarded to Officer Elmer Marzen for outstanding crime prevention efforts.
To register for this event or become a table sponsor, email Barb Nobriga at barb@powerinn.org or call 453-8888 or click the link below.
To register for the Awards Luncheon, click here. |
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