3M - Maplewood Management Model

Star Tribune Sat, 01 Dec 2007 22:03:57 CST
Police budget riles Hudson in search of chief

Some worried residents and the former police chief say the city needs more officers to fight crime effectively. ...many Hudson residents are scared. People worry about criminals coming across on the high-traffic I-94, he said. "A group of us think that given the transient nature of people coming through here, we have more crime than a city our size should have," he said Friday, expressing his support for more money for police. Debate over the extent of crime -- and effectiveness of the police budget -- is vigorous in Hudson, a city of about 12,000 residents. The city is preparing to hire its fourth police chief in less than two years in the wake of Andrew Smith's departure last summer. He had wanted more patrol officers, modern computers and a suitable police department building. Both Smith and his successor, Interim Chief Eric Atkinson, stated in city documents that the police force was understaffed to the extent that it could not prevent crime but only react to it. Atkinson said in a Sept. 11 budget proposal that only two officers patrol the city each shift. He suggested hiring an assistant chief, a narcotics detective and three more patrol officers. Next year's proposed city budget, however, doesn't include any of those positions. It does allow $98,880 to cover 2.5 percent wage increases for union patrol officers and sergeants, and about $21,000 for overtime pay. Mayor Jack Breault, who wasn't available to comment Friday, had said this fall that tight Wisconsin levy restrictions imposed on cities prevent much extra spending. Arguments over the police budget broke out again in recent weeks on the opinion pages of the local newspaper, the Hudson Star-Observer. Smith, angered that the city told Atkinson he's not in the running for police chief, said Breault "tries to lead by bullying, arrogance and micro-managing." ... But City Council Member Scot O'Malley said the department's own crime statistics show that violent crime has declined in Hudson over the past several years. He said that both Atkinson and Smith have done Hudson residents a disfavor by portraying crime as being worse than it is.

[[keywords: PublicSafety;Metro;]]