City debates ways to bring back nine NPD positions

Oct. 24—Norman police are requesting the replacement of nine positions removed from the department in 2020 — something city staff say could be challenging to fund.

The nine positions Police Chief Kevin Foster requested at a study session Tuesday were cut in June 2020 after nationwide discussions about funding for law enforcement following weeks of protests about racial injustice and police brutality. Seven of the positions were already vacant and cut immediately; the other two were eliminated after the officers filling them left the force, police spokesperson Sarah Jensen said in an email.

The decision allowed the city to reallocate $630,321 for community programs and $235,000 for an internal audit function. The internal audit function hasn't been realized because it would require a change to the city charter, according to finance director Anthony Francisco.

Funding the nine positions now would "put a several-hundred-thousand-dollar new hole" in the city budget, Francisco said. He and other city officials have considered what they could do to re-fund the nine positions, he said.

'It's been quite a while since then'

If approved, the nine additional positions would put the department at a force of 180, Jensen said.

At the meeting, Foster cited a rise in crime in his request for the nine positions. To date, Norman police have responded to 3,223 violent felonies, rapes, arsons and thefts in 2021. The number has already eclipsed the 2020 and 2019 year totals for these crimes by more than 300 cases, according to records provided by Jensen.

Foster said at the meeting that Norman police pull over many people who aren't committing serious offenses. He claimed better staffing would help his officers more precisely identify suspects.

Jensen said police will mostly use the nine positions to fill the department's new Community and Staff Services Bureau, a section of the police department formed in a new restructure. Once fully staffed, the bureau will cover training, records, crime analysis, community outreach, traffic and school resources, police say.

The creation of this bureau is one of the factors that's caused Ward 7 Stephen Holman — one of three remaining councilors who voted to support the reallocation in 2020 — to express interest in filling the nine positions.

Holman also pointed to state efforts, like mobile crisis teams, that will respond to a new 988 number starting July 2022. About 30 to 40 adults call for help in mental health or behavioral crises each month in Cleveland County,

While Foster said Tuesday he does not anticipate the 988 number will significantly impact the department's call volume, Holman expects these services and the department restructure will stand in for the original purpose of the reallocation. He said the councilors who voted for the reallocation expected the other services they wanted to fund would divert 10% of calls away from NPD annually.

"It's been quite a while since then, and the police department has reflected upon the public feedback," Holman said.

Foster's request at the Tuesday meeting was followed by discussion between the council and city staff about how the city will fill the new positions.

While councilors asked how the city could pay for the positions, Foster said the city also needs to attract officers with good pay. He believes this is a sustainable approach to officer retention at a time when police departments across the country are struggling to hire, he said.

"Budgetarily and recruiting, it will definitely be a challenge," Holman said.

Ward 4 councilor Lee Hall and Mayor Breea Clark, who also supported the reallocation in 2020, did not respond to requests for comment on the nine positions.

Finding the money

If the city were to bring back the nine positions, it would first have to consider how to bring back the money reallocated in 2020, Francisco said.

Francisco explained the city could bring back the $235,000 from the internal audit function that was never created. This could likely cover salary and benefits for three of the nine officers, he said, leaving the city to worry about funding six.

An entry-level officer in the department makes $51,705, according to the city website. Foster said he believes paying his officers well is a more sustainable retention strategy than offering one-time incentives, like signing bonuses.

There may be less left over in this balance if salaries are increased for recruitment. Francisco also said there's the issue of retirement pensions.

"That's an ongoing cost, and it's a growing ongoing cost, and it's a particularly fast-growing ongoing cost for police officers and firefighters because they have 13% or 14% pension tied to whatever their payroll is," Francisco said.

Francisco, in response to an inquiry from Ward 6 Elizabeth Foreman, said the city could increase its public safety sales tax to pay for the nine positions. The increase would have to be passed through an election, he said.

He also noted that, because of Oklahoma's tax structure, more than half of the city's budget is funded through sales taxes.

Holman also said "every single city department" is understaffed, some of them critically so.

"All these city services, all these positions that we need to hire and all of these city departments are all paid for by sales tax revenue," Holman said.

The department of finance now waits on word from the city manager and department heads on what to do.

"If we're directed to do so, we'll build it into the budget either this fiscal year or next fiscal year, and then ongoing into the future, we'll follow directions about where they might want to deploy those additional resources in the police department," Francisco said.