Lynn budget woes limiting cops’ actions

LYNN – If you’ve called Lynn police and gotten a slow response recently, chances are it’s because there aren’t enough officers on patrol.”We have taken some officers off the street,” Lynn Police Chief John Suslak said in an interview Wednesday. “We have taken two cars off each shift, seven days a week.”In addition, two officers of the department’s Special Investigations Unit and one officer in the Domestic Violence Unit were placed back onto routine patrols due to budgetary restraints, the chief said.”It’s because of the difficult financial times we find ourselves in,” Suslak said. “The fire department and the school department also have to take a cut. We know no one is picking on the police department.”The restraints are a result of a $250,000 cut in the police department’s budget that occurred in December.The chief says the number of patrol cars per shift was reduced from 14 to 12. If a major incident is unfolding, it’s likely that police cannot respond to “low priority” calls right away.”Even with 14 cars, there were occasions where every single car was tied up,” Suslak said. “I think most people would understand that if you have fewer officers on the street, it would take longer to get to some of the calls.”Suslak quashed a rumor that police abandoned patrolling low-crime areas in favor of keeping watch over high-crime areas.”There’s no part of the city we don’t patrol,” he said. “We still patrol all areas of the city. As we’ve always done, we prioritize calls.”Suslak says the department must make do with its budget until the start of Fiscal Year 2009 beginning July 1, but doesn’t see light at the end of the immediate tunnel.”We don’t anticipate any hiring (of new officers) for the foreseeable future,” which include replacing the two officers who recently transferred to other communities, he said.The budget cut has also forced the department to forgo purchasing new cruisers and has taken a traffic enforcement vehicle off the streets.There is some good news, however. Suslak says a $320,000 grant from the state Executive Office of Public Safety will prevent layoffs next fiscal year.The police department initially declined to accept the $320,000 grant because the funds were only intended to hire four new police officers under rules largely composed by Gov. Deval Patrick. If Lynn accepted the money and hired the new officers, a clause in the agreement said the new officers could not be laid off.At the time, Suslak and other officials weren’t sure if layoffs would have to be made in FY’ 09. The thought of having to layoff an officer with seniority over a rookie wasn’t one Suslak and others were fond of.”You can’t layoff more senior officers over people just out of the academy,” Suslak said.In finding some other way Lynn could accept the money, city officials spoke with EOPS Secretary Kevin Burke and undersecretary Kurt Schwartz, who in turn successfully lobbied Patrick for an alternative way to use the money.Now, the grant can be “used to offset future layoffs,” Suslak said. “It doesn’t appear we’re going to be laying anybody off.”Suslak says Mayor Edward J. Clancy Jr. is very supportive of the police department and understands that every aspect of the municipal budget is under distress right now.”We don’t want to come across as whining,” Suslak said. “The city is between a rock and a hard place? The mayor has been very supportive.”