By Stephen Peck
With only 12 officers currently on the road, the Buena Vista Police Department is back to the same levels of manpower it had in 1971.
“It’s hard for me to believe that we don’t go up any officers, because it is a whole lot more expensive and time consuming to police nowadays than it was in 1971,” Police Chief D.W. Slagle said.
“Equipment is twice as much these days. Training is twice as much. And gas is twice as much,” he said.
Slagle said that even though costs associated with running a well-trained police force are rising, funding is not rising with them, so his department is stretching every dollar it can.
The Police Department had a budget of $1,095,000 last year. Slagle said he will ask the city for a $20,000 increase when he submits his budget April 12, mostly because of rising gas costs, but he is unsure whether that will be approved.
Buena Vista City Manager Jay Scudder said he is aware of the Police Department’s budget concerns, and that the department is “high on the city’s priority list” when it comes to allocating money.
Slagle said increasing gas expenditures have eaten up a large chunk of the money allotted for vehicle maintenance.
“Usually it has not been a problem, but this year, with the price of gas going up, we aren’t even going to be close to having enough money allotted for gas,” he said.
“It’s blowing us out of the water.”
Training programs and officer salaries make up other large portions of the department’s budget, but Slagle thinks those expenses are necessary.
Even though money is tight, he can control only 30 percent of his budget, he said. The rest consists of city-mandated benefits like group medical, retirement and supplemental insurance. He said he must cut costs on his end when other costs rise.
Slagle said the Police Department is cutting costs any way it can without having to cut any officers.
“We will look at every area, whether it will be $100 here or $200 there,” he said.
Buena Vista lost an officer last year to the Rockbridge County Sheriff’s Office and has not filled the vacancy. Slagle estimated that by choosing not to replace the officer, the department is saving the city about $54,000.
Slagle said he has cut printing and binding costs in half just by being prudent.
“We print nothing unless it’s absolutely necessary,” he said.
Buena Vista also tries to keep costs down by rotating its vehicle fleet. The Police Department leases six new patrol cars every three years so the cars stay under warranty. Lease financing for a new batch of cars was approved at a recent City Council meeting.
The warranty on the patrol cars covers large repairs like motor and transmission problems, not normal wear and tear.
City Council Member and former Buena Vista Police Chief Lewis Plogger said the city used to purchase two new vehicles every year and would run them until they wore out. He said maintenance costs are much less under the new system.
Scudder said officers must have vehicles they can depend on.
“We have to remember what these people are doing,” he said. “Every day their life is on the line … and they need to have the best equipment we can provide for them.”
Funding for the Buena Vista Police Department may be declining, but the demands on the officers are not.
Slagle said the department has three fewer officers than its counterpart in Lexington, but only about 400 fewer citizens. Lexington has one police officer for every 467 citizens, he said, while Buena Vista has one officer per 554 citizens.
“Looking at the printouts on calls answered last December, Lexington answered 446 calls. Buena Vista answered 694,” he said. “We are doing more with less.”
Slagle said there have been times when an officer has to leave a person in a holding cell while he goes and responds to another call.
Slagle said he often has to play the role of motivator.
“You can only ask so much of these guys,” he said.