In July 2009, the City of Syracuse was awarded $3,090,514 in federal stimulus money to hire 14 new police officers. But for nearly two years, the money sat on the table while the Syracuse Police Department was faced with cutting 20 sworn officer positions in 2010.
The city has yet to begin hiring officers using that money, according to the federal stimulus money tracking system. The money remained locked up even after Mayor Stephanie Miner and the police took new measures to address gun and gang-related crimes in 2010.
This year, though, it looks like the department may finally access those funds and put additional officers on the street.
Tough times
The funding came through the COPS Hiring Recovery Program and would have provided three years of salary and benefits for 14 full-time officers. Syracuse was one of 12 departments in the state awarded COPS funding to hire additional officers in 2009. The process required departments seeking grant money to prove they would be able to retain officers hired with COPS money for at least one year after the federal funding ran out.
“When we first applied for money our allotted strength was 506 sworn police officers,” Chief of Police Frank Fowler said. “Our request for the grant was based on those numbers, which would have boosted the department up to 520 officers.”
But shortly after the grant was awarded in 2009, the economic crisis forced the department to reduce its force by 20 positions.
“Mayor Miner decided to reduce workforce of the city across the board, which included the police department,” Fowler said.
Those cuts initially meant layoffs, he said, but the workforce was ultimately reduced through attrition and leaving vacant posts open.
At a time when additional funding for officers could have been a job-saver, the COPS money remained untouchable.
Because the department had reported carrying a force of 506 officers, none of the $3 million could be used to hire new officers until all 506 existing positions were filled.
“You can’t use our federal funds to supplant local government funds,” said Gilbert Moore, a spokesperson for the US Dept. of Justice, which administers COPS grants. “If they’re drawing down money for the same number of officers, then we’re not putting new officers on the streets, we’re underwriting local government budgets.”
Lose some to win some
The solution, odd though it may seem, was to reduce the number of officers on staff in order to hire more.
Rather than carry 20 unfilled positions, the department requested a Reduction In Force, a formal process to lower the number of sworn officer positions on paper from 506 to 486.
Fowler said the RIF had been authorized by City Hall, but that doesn’t automatically unlock the stimulus money.
Moore said a department would have to undergo another formal administrative review by the Dept. of Justice to access COPS funds after an RIF. The process typically takes from three to six months.
He was not sure when or if the city of Syracuse had begun that process.
Moore added that the instances of RIF requests had increased in the last few years, evidence of a “new reality” for law enforcement throughout the country.
“We see a lot of that in Rustbelt towns,” Moore said. “I would imagine that of the 1,046 agencies receiving grants in 2009, Syracuse is hardly alone.”
Based on the widespread need of law enforcement agencies throughout the country, the Dept. of Justice would “probably be rather accommodating” to Syracuse’s request for RIF, he added.
Roadblocks and red flags
Syracuse Director of Administration Bill Ryan said the lengthy negotiating process to revise the sales tax agreement between the city and county was primarily to blame for the freeze on the COPS funding.
“Common sense would say, you’re awarded this money through the federal government, why didn’t you just hire more cops?” Ryan said.
The city could have pushed the RIF through and started the process with the Dept. of Justice to free up the money, but there was uncertainty how many officers the city would be able to retain on the workforce.
“After a period of time, you own them,” and the city will have to take over paying the salaries of those new hires after three years, Ryan said.
He said the election of a new governor and a 2 percent cut in funding Syracuse would receive from Gov. Cuomo’s proposed budget also delayed any decisions.
A meeting of city and police officials planned for this month should settle that number, Ryan said.
“Within the next week or so we’re going to have a conversation to see how many [officers] we’ll be able to hire using the COPS grant and using maybe even beyond the COPS grant,” Ryan said.
The red tape waiting game
After nearly two years, will that $3 million still be available when Syracuse is ready and able to access it?
Moore said when COPS grants are awarded, the money is installed in an account similar to an escrow account.
When Syracuse is ready to use it, that’s where it will be, he said.
As the police department prepares for the inaugural class of its regional training academy in April, Fowler said he won’t be certain how many Syracuse recruits will start training until City Hall says he has the money to hire them.
“Right now, I’m just waiting to hear back from city hall for permission to use the money,” Fowler said.
