December 30, 2008

Atlanta department cuts hours; morale drops

By Tim Eberly
Atlanta Journal-Constitution

ATLANTA — Atlanta police officers don't like what they got for Christmas this year from the city.

A 10 percent pay cut.

The timing of it all couldn't have been worse: It went into effect the day after Christmas.

A budget crisis has forced the Police Department, like all other city departments, to cut four hours out of police officers' schedules each week.

Police officials say they've tinkered with schedules to best handle the loss of police resources, while the department's police union says the furloughs have dropped morale to a dangerous low.

"Clearly, with the 10 percent reduction in our resources, we will have some shortages," Atlanta police Deputy Chief George Turner said. "We'll be doing everything we can to fill those gaps."

Rather than have officers work four hours less per week, the department is requiring them to take an extra day off every other week, Turner said.

"I can't imagine the troops feel very positive about the fact that their pay is being reduced by 10 percent," Turner said. "It's a very tough time for all of us. I'm thankful to have a job at this point."

It's unclear how much the furloughs will impact public safety, Turner said.

Officers in all the police units and divisions already work staggered shifts and have different off days, but police supervisors will be careful not to let too many officers take the same day off, Turner said.

If a police zone is short some patrol officers, other sworn personnel who work in specialty units likely will be tapped to fill in the gaps, Turner said.

The president of the Atlanta police union, Sgt. Scott Kreher, said the furloughs will not only result in spotty police coverage, but more officers will leave the department for better jobs elsewhere.

"Morale is probably the lowest I've ever seen it in my 16 years," Kreher said. "Obviously, when you take a 10 percent pay cut, this is going to have a significant impact on their ability to support themselves."

He also believes that many of the officers who stay will put in less effort on the job.

"What's going to happen is the officer is going to start feeling abandoned by the city," Kreher said. "You're going to see more and more resentment from the officers."

To make up for the pay cuts, more officers will be competing with each other for the limited supply of off-duty jobs --- typically security or police work for private businesses --- offered to officers, Kreher said.

Another result of the cuts: The Police Department's headquarters on Ponce de Leon Avenue is now closed on Fridays to members of the public in search of documents like police reports or permits and licenses.