One could easily make a case that the proposed tax increase could be halved, if some of these questionable police perks were renegotiated.
Almost one-fifth of the city's proposed $5.9 billion budget will be devoted to police personnel costs. Beale read some of the line items in the proposed police budget aloud and asked Starks and his deputies to explain: $28.8 million for police overtime; $3.9 million for "holiday premium pay"; $37.1 million for "duty availability."
"What is 'duty availability'?" Beale asked.
"It's a contractural benefit paid to sworn officers," Starks said. One of his assistant deputy superintendents clarified: officers are paid $730 every three months, on top of their salaries, to be "available" in case they're called in to work an extra or emergency shift. If they report for extra duty, they're paid overtime wages as well.
"So each officer is getting $730 a quarter to be available? My, my, my," Beale said, shaking his head. "Is anyone tracking who's working a second job and isn't available?"
"No," Starks said.
Officers will also be paid a total of $11.5 million if they don't take furlough time they're entitled to, Starks confirmed, and $24 million each year to cover the cost of uniforms. That last expense works out to $600 per quarter for each officer.
"Is there anything in place to find out if the uniform allowance is being spent on that?" Beale asked.
"No," Starks said. "Just on the annual inspection day."
"Well, I can put aside a nice shirt and tie and come in looking real good for inspection," Beale said. "Officers are paid to be available, compensated for furloughs and uniforms, but we don't know if they're using it for uniforms or not--all that comes out to $153 million when we're being asked to slap the taxpayers for $300 million--"
[From Chicago Reader Blogs: Clout City]
Beale is usually not a headline maker (though, this exchange was not in the Tribune or Sun-Times, as far as I can tell)
