Aurora mayor, chief deny plans to lay off police officers

Aurora Mayor Tom Weisner and police Chief Greg Thomas are denying reports the police department's budget proposal for next year calls for massive staff cuts.

Several sources, however, insist Thomas intends to present a budget proposal next month that could include the elimination of as many as 71 sworn officers and 16 civilian positions in an effort to reduce police costs by as much as $8 million - or 15 percent of the department's nearly $53 million in annual expenditures.

Weisner has asked all department heads in the city to reduce their budgets by 15 percent for the coming year. The mayor has promised to present a balanced budget for city council approval in mid-October.

According to sources within the department, Thomas met with lieutenants earlier this week and outlined the plan. Those sources said some lieutenants discussed the possible cutbacks with their officers.

Thomas called such reports the product of a "murky rumor mill" and flatly denied any plans to let go of any of his 300 sworn officers.

Weisner on Thursday called talk of possible cutbacks in police staffing patently false and late Friday issued a written statement to that effect.

"Recently, a layoff occurred among both management and union employees. In that layoff, no police or firefighters were included," he wrote. "No further layoffs of any city personnel are under consideration at this time. It is our hope that concession negotiations with the various city bargaining units will be successful and that further layoffs will be unnecessary."

Two weeks ago, the city reduced its work force by 100, including 37 employees who took voluntary buyouts that became effective earlier this week.

Those cuts are expected to save the city nearly $3 million - just one step in addressing next year's anticipated $19 million budget deficit.

Before the personnel reductions, the city employed roughly 1,100 workers, 900 of whom were represented by bargaining groups. Both union and nonunion employees received layoff notices as follows: 21 employees from the nonunion executive and nonexempt classifications; 16 full-time employees from AFSCME Local 3298, which consists of clerical positions, inspectors, planners and accountants; and four full-time employees from AFSCME Local 1514, which includes public works and water and sewer maintenance employees.

Some aldermen also heard about the rumored police department cuts and vowed to fight them if presented in October as part of Weisner's balanced budget.

"If the reports I've heard are true, we absolutely cannot allow that to happen," said Alderman at Large Richard Irvin. "Losing any of our men and women in blue would put this city back decades in our fight against crime and the work we've done to change the image and perception of this city."

Fourth Ward Alderman Rick Lawrence also vowed to fight any cuts that aren't performance-based. Lawrence said his constituents' single most important concern is safety and a reduction in force would add to that concern.

"I guess (Weisner) is so enamored with (the nearly completed new police headquarters on Indian Trail Road) that he thinks the criminals will just walk right in and check themselves in just like Otis did on the 'Andy Griffith Show,'" Lawrence said. "That's not going to happen. We need our police."

Irvin and police union attorney Craig Mielke said talks of possible staff cuts may be used as a motivational tool to get the police union to negotiate concessions to help alleviate the budget crunch.

"Chief Thomas is a really good chief, so my guess is the city asked him to cut his budget 15 percent and he put this together to make a point to the mayor and city council that he can't operate with 70 fewer officers," Mielke said Friday. "I mean, you can defer street maintenance but you can't defer police protection and I can't put it any more blunt than that."

Thomas said his proposed budget cuts include a savings of about $110,000 by eliminating the Drug Abuse Resistance Education and Gang Resistance Education And Training programs that the department has taught in 46 area schools since 1989 and 1993 respectively.

A majority of those costs, Thomas said, were attributed to overtime pay for officers.