By THOMAS GRILLO
LYNN — There are fewer police officers on the street as the department deals with a $567,000 budget shortfall.
Acting Chief Leonard Desmarais acknowledged he is not filling absences when cops are out sick or take personal time. As a result, as much as 15 percent of the force may not be on the streets during a shift.
“We’re just another department trying to deal with the city’s budget issues,” said Desmarais. “Like most municipal budgets, most of the money is in payroll and the only way to reduce a shortfall of that size is to reduce overtime.”
Before the cuts, a typical shift included a lieutenant in the station, three sergeants as supervisors and 14 patrol officers on the street for a total of 18 crime fighters. Officers are usually deployed in four two-man cars and six one-man cruisers.
But because of the deficit, the chief was forced to trim payroll. Under the new plan, Desmarais said if only two sergeants and a dozen officers report to work, he does not hire replacements.
“That’s a significant savings,” he said. “If everyone shows up for work, we do a regular deployment. But if someone is out for a personal day, sick or on vacation, we will only have up to 12 officers instead of the usual 14.”
In the interest of officers’ safety, the chief said, instead of having a mix of one and two officers in cruisers, they are deploying six two-man cars.
“There are six routes citywide and so we have a two-man car on each route,” he said.
Despite trimming overtime, Desmarais and Mayor Judith Flanagan Kennedy insist the city is safe.
“The whole city is still covered,” Desmarais said. “There’s still a two-man car for every route, there are still supervisors on the street and a lieutenant in the house.”
Kennedy said she has confidence in the decision.
“I am assured by the acting chief that the city will maintain adequate coverage with this move,” she said. “They will save on overtime or back-to-back shifts while continuing to keep the city safe.”
Desmarais was one of four candidates who recently took the test to serve as permanent chief to replace former chief Kevin Coppinger, who was elected last year as Essex County Sheriff. Results are expected in a week. The other candidates included Deputy Chief Michael Mageary and Capts. Mark O’Toole and Michael Vail.
The budget problems began last year when the police contract was settled that called for a more than $3 million wage hike over four years.
“We had to fund part of it out of our budget which led to a $1 million deficit,” Desmarais said.
Last summer, as the city’s chief financial officer revealed City Hall faced a $4.2 million deficit, Coppinger told the city council that the department disbanded several units, including the Warrant Task Force that consisted of a sergeant and three patrolmen, the Traffic Safety Unit, which included two enforcement officers, four members of the Community Liaison Team, a traffic investigator and a special investigations detective. None of the dozen officers were laid off, rather they were reassigned to patrol. But he said the city will be deprived of valuable services that the public depends on.
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Thomas Grillo can be reached at [email protected].