Department leases two new cars, are plagued with building maintenance repair expenses
By DAVID TELLER
Staff Reporter
In what believed to be a slow time of year for the Cheney Police Department, there were seven crimes against persons, including two child abuse cases and five assaults, according to the department's July Monthly Accountability Review.
Cmdr. Rick Campbell said the number of child abuse cases increased sharply and are reported as assault. Usually there is one case reported a month.
“At the end of the year, we'll probably average probably one a month,” he said, adding that the department hasn't had a case of child abuse reported in a while.
With the addition of another investigator, the detective's office has two officers working simultaneously. Vertie Brown came out of retirement to do investigations for the department as a reserve officer. Campbell said Brown is currently undergoing training to learn the department's policies and processes.
“We'll see more of an impact as he comes on line,” Campbell said, adding that Brown is still just helping out until he begins working on his own.
Compared to last month, there was a slight increase in the number of cases assigned to the detectives office. In June there were 43 cases, in July there were 49. Conversely, in June only one case was closed by the detective's office, in July there were 12.
The department will be going back to the traditional larger-sized Ford Crown Victoria as two new cars have arrived and been put to use. In the winter, Campbell said the front-wheel drive Chevrolet Impalas do well in the snow, but due to space considerations and the amount of equipment officers are using, the larger body size was the best choice for the department.
Another perk is that the department will not have to pay the entire cost of the vehicle up front. Campbell said the department has changed from the purchasing process to a lease process.
“That changed the manner by which we make the orders and Ford was a little bit more flexible,” Campbell said adding that the other two American-made car manufacturers, Chevrolet and Dodge were not as willing to be flexible.
From a cost standpoint, over the course of the lease, it would be more expensive than buying the cars but only by a “couple of hundred dollars.” The benefit is that the city will allocate funds for the cars over the course of the lease, which is four years.
The department is still under budget despite the amount spent on repairing the building since the first of the year. With 58.3 percent of the year elapsed, the department has only spent 53.6 percent of their budgeted amount.
The biggest budget impact is building maintenance as more issues with their building have arisen to inflate the budget to 104 percent of the yearly budgeted amount for that expense.
Expenses like a new air conditioning unit to cool the server, an insurance deductible and snow shoveling from last winter's storms and a new water heater continue to plague the department's pocket book.
“You'll continue to see building maintenance costs go up because we have reoccurring costs that are going to come out of that budget line every month,” Campbell said.
David Teller can be reached at [email protected]
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