Camden budget calls for increased police spending

For close to a year, Camden Mayor Dana L. Redd has advocated replacing her city's police department with a Camden County police force, provided the change is cost-effective and beneficial to city residents.

The transition could begin as soon as October, with new officers on the job by early next year, city officials have said. Yet the fiscal 2013 budget Redd introduced to City Council on Tuesday proposed an increase of funding for law enforcement of more than 20 percent.

Camden paid $29 million for police in the 2012 fiscal year, which ended June 30. The 2013 budget calls for spending $35 million.

"We budgeted for a worst-case scenario, since we still have pending lawsuits and arbitration matters" that could affect the transition, city spokesman Robert Corrales said in an e-mail Wednesday.

The plan calls for $18 million for salaries and wages for current law enforcement personnel, and $17 million for expenses related to "a possible shared-service agreement," Corrales said.

Neither the county nor the city has released an estimate of costs or savings associated with creating a county force, which is expected to have up to 400 officers, about 130 more than the current city force. No other municipalities have signed on to the plan.

"We're still drilling down those numbers," county spokesman Dan Keashan.

A shared-services agreement among the city, county, and state is expected by the end of the month, Corrales said. The agreement will list all terms and conditions, including costs, he said.

County officials have said the force would be funded with city money and grants, not county tax money. Start-up costs for the force, endorsed by Gov. Christie, would likely be funded by the state, Keashan said.

"We have the confidence of the governor. . . . He believes in the regional police model," Keashan said.

There are many unanswered questions, though, including how millions of dollars in federal grants recently awarded to the city department could be transferred to the county force.

Opponents of a county department, which include police unions, have filed an appeal in Superior Court to prevent dismantling of the current force.

Redd reiterated in her budget speech Tuesday that city residents - who will not have a vote in the county force decision - elected her to make the tough calls.

Camden's $150 million proposed budget reflects a 10 percent cut in spending compared with 2012. City officials say $2 million to $4 million will be saved by switching to a state health benefit plan.

Most major departments, including the Mayor's Office, Municipal Court, and City Attorney's Office, seek an increase in funding for salaries.

Though the state has not yet released its transitional aid appropriations - money sent to financially distressed cities - city officials estimate Camden will receive $105 million in state aid, or 70 percent of its budget.

The governor has asked Camden to begin weaning itself off state aid, which it will do by increasing its tax levy by 3 percent to 4 percent each year for the next several years. But even with the tax hikes, the city's annual tax revenue in 2015 would be only $2 million more than it is today.

Camden expects 17 percent of its assessed property taxes to go uncollected in 2013. More than half the city's properties - including most of the waterfront attractions - are tax-exempt.