By Elaine Stoll
Published on 1/3/2007 in TheDay.com

New London— The City Council voted 6-1 Tuesday against authorizing the city manager to apply for Community Development Block Grant funds for the purpose of hiring four to seven police officers.

Councilor Rob Pero suggested in a Nov. 17, 2006, letter to city councilors and officials that the police department could apply for the grant funding in the 2007-08 year and at least five years thereafter to pay for officers in addition to those funded in the city budget. The officers would increase the size of the New London Police Department and assume the duties once performed by the former state- and federally-funded Safe Neighborhood Program, he proposed.

Pero, the only councilor who voted to support an application for grant money to pay for new officers, objected to what he called a “political” vote Tuesday not to allow consideration of such an application under the regular process. The other councilors said the city is unable to fill existing vacancies and said that they opposed taking money away from the organizations that receive Community Development Block Grants to pay for officers' salaries and benefits.

“The reason we don't have officers is because of a shortage of candidates,” said Councilor Charles W. Frink.

That shortage is affecting police departments around the state, Mayor Margaret M. Curtin said. Better regional planning, expanded recruiting efforts and a review of the strict physical fitness standards the state currently requires of officers could help fill vacancies, she said.

“It's not an issue of budget. It's not an issue of the City Council having turned its back on the police department. It's an issue of finding people to work for us and stay working for us,” Councilor Beth A. Sabilia said.

Councilor William M. Cornish said he would support future funding for any police position that can be filled.

Four new officers – the minimum Pero wanted the city to seek CGBG funding for – would cost close to a quarter of a million dollars, Frink said.

“It just doesn't make sense to me to take money away from all the other organizations,” he said.

Those organizations provide food to senior citizens, teach children to read and help place children with families to adopt them, Sabilia said.

Pero objected to the unusual treatment his proposal received. New London Police Chief Bruce F. Rinehart had already begun preparing an application for CDBG funding for officers, Pero said. The council has not involved itself in CDBG applications by other city department heads such as the annual application by Office of Development and Planning Director Bruce Hyde, and no other applications were preemptively un-authorized, Pero said.

“Weigh this application with the others,” he said, noting that the council doesn't even know what other groups will and won't apply for 2007-08 funding.

Until Tuesday, no councilors objected to the November proposal, Pero said.

“This memo was addressed to all of them. After a month and a half they have a problem with it, two weeks before the application is due? Come on,” he said.

The same councilors who supported a failed proposal to keep the tax rate in the coming fiscal year the same as the current year's rate have vowed to fund any position the police department can find someone to fill, Pero added.

“How are you going to keep taxes in check if you're going to have an open pocketbook for the police department? You can't have it both ways,” he said.