Cuts leave Houston with one police officer

HOUSTON — After hearing popular support for maintaining a police presence in the city, the Houston City Council is no longer considering shuttering the department.

But the department was not free from cutbacks. One police officer will now account for the entirety of the city’s law enforcement, animal control and code compliance duties.

The city is facing a revenue shortfall of more than $80,000. Spending has to be cut before the end of the fiscal year on June 30 to avoid the city taking on debt.

“The reason we are doing the cuts now is so we don’t spend too much. We are cutting before we get to that point,” Houston Mayor Roger Purcell said.

The police department was one place other members of the council proposed to cut, he said. The department does not get any dedicated funding from property taxes, meaning it competes with all the other departments for a share of the city’s sales tax as well as any money raised from issuing citations.

“When you only have a million dollar budget, you have to pick and choose,” Purcell said.

Citations have been down in this fiscal year, and some citations are still outstanding, he said.

Purcell, who said he was never in favor of closing the department, said the city will keep it open after an outpouring of community support. However, the city will have to lay off its community service officer and one of its administrative staff members.

In addition to his law enforcement duties, Officer Charley McAnnaly will now be responsible for animal control and code compliance, areas that were covered by the community service officer.

“He came forward and said he could do it,” Purcell said. “We’re taking him at his word for it.”

Additionally, McAnnaly will receive less support from Alaska State Troopers than the city has seen in the past. Before April 7, troopers responded to any type of calls in the city when a Houston police officer was not on duty. Now, troopers will only respond to certain types of calls, like emergencies or life-threatening situations. All other minor calls will have to wait until McAnnaly is on duty.

The personnel cuts to the police department, in addition to cuts to planned maintenance, new fire equipment and travel expenses, should keep the city out of the red, Purcell said.

Contact Todd L. Disher at todd.disher@frontiersman.com or 352-2252.