Meeting: Hot and swampy moves fast - City Beat - citybeat's Blog - Bakersfield.com

May 20, 2009 at 05:05 PM : Some programs to be...

Some programs to be cut from Recreation and Parks (due to low participation rates and not much revenue generation):

Turkey Splash

Spring Splash

KidFit

Spring and winter camps at Silvercreek park, and the teen center there

Other tidbits from Dianne Hoover, head of the parks department:

• Weekend use of parks is up overall. Usually they're super busy on Mother's Day and Easter weekends, but now they're busy every weekend, probably from folks staying in town instead of traveling.

• Streetscape and median landscaping will be decreasing so councilmembers can expect more complaints

• they've switched to a 7-day workweek to cut down on overtime

• 8 fewer fleet trucks

Fire is up now...

May 20, 2009 at 06:05 PM : A new southwest fire...

A new southwest fire station at Mountain Vista and Harris Road, Station 14, should be done by December.

Total responses last year: more than 27,700.

Most were medical-related (15,000+)

Property losses in '08: $10.8 million

Property saved: $74.6 million

(OK it's getting hotter in here...folks fidgety and nodding off...Fraze isn't giving presentation, two deputy chiefs are. Presentation is devoid of fireworks, though lack of contract mentioned in a Powerpoint slide)

Hanson: How do you determine value of property saved?

Answer: Database, assessment values, etc

Couch: How many sworn personnel per 1,000 people in city limits...a better measure to me is to know how many officers per 1k people where Bakersfield Fire Department is first in..can you get that for us?

A: Working on obtaining from our GIS expert. Unknown: county areas, where they reciprocate as well...working on that data

That's it for fire. Now police

May 20, 2009 at 06:05 PM : Police Chief Bill...

Police Chief Bill Rector, in suit and tie, presenting. Backed up by guys in ties...not a gun or uniform in sight (except for usual security in back of room). We can only hope they're all packing under those street clothes.

Darn, overtime down slide gone too fast. I'll get it after.

Two probable grants totaling more than $1 million could get 2 officers for Mill Creek, 10 police vehicles, some training..

Applying for a $6 mill grant that would pay for 20 officers, plus a few others

Gun seizures: last year, 900 plus

166 were gang related

Grant funded DUI enforcement last year: $531,000

Monthly programs have been successful

Large project, this year, will continue next year

$500,000

Host server for database for BPD, sheriff, other police and court agencies in area

3 officers yesterday awarded highest level of recognition, Medal of Valor, in Monterey.

"That's what we're committed to," etc, now we're on to council questions.

Hanson: Police and fire No. 1 in state.

How do you reduce staff and reduce overtime at same time?

Rector: It's very difficult. ...A lot of things we do are incident driven. Whether going to courts or responding to crisis...we don't have control over that.

Hanson: We're stil ok? Imp't not to decrease safety to citizens...high school kids hang out by my park...

Rector: I won't mince words. Minus 29 officers, there's a change, what we can and can't do...300k of grant money into overtime...

Hanson: Bottom line...incumbent on council, see if we can get more police officers on the street...

Rector: We're working on that

Jacquie Sullivan: We certainly appreciate our departments...fire and police...

Your words: "our responsibility to deal with what we have...."

Amount keeps going down what we have to work with. Certainly appreciate your effort to make changes ...with least amount of impact...

Rector: ty

When we first learned of downturn in November, dec,...we really gathered up whole department...brainstormed...wanted input ...how to streamline...

Sullivan: We can't borrow like Sacramento does...cities can only deal with what we have...appreciate it, your'e doing good.

That's it. Council statements now

May 20, 2009 at 06:05 PM : They're off to...

They're off to closed session (in air-conditioned City Hall North).

I'm hanging here until they're done, in the unlikely event there is something to announce after closed session. They're guessing it will last an hour.

In the meantime, I got the info from Chief Rector. It's not clear whether the reductions are in the upcoming year, starting July 1, but it looks that way. Here they are:

• Decrease in overtime of $1.2 million, or 39 percent

• Decrease in training of $498,000, or 83 percent

• Decrease in equipment and supplies of $302,000, or 46 percent

(numbers rounded)