BY LISA DONOVAN
The Cincinnati Enquirer
A charged debate over whether to hire 33 more Cincinnati police officers ended with a classic political compromise Wednesday -- the city will hire 17.
In an 8-1 vote, council agreed to hire half the number of officers they could get through a U.S. Department of Justice grant. The grant required the city to put up some of its own money. Councilman Tyrone Yates was the lone no vote.
The deal was brokered on the floor of city council, more than an hour after Councilman Jim Tarbell chided his colleagues for their inability to compromise.
Mr. Tarbell told council members he resented any implications that his vote against hiring all 33 officers was a sign that he was somehow "anti-police."
"I'm appalled that I'm put in a corner and made to appear that I don't support safety in our neighborhoods," a red-faced Mr. Tarbell said.
Councilman Charlie Winburn said that residents draw their own conclusions when they ask for more police in their neighborhoods and elected officials cast a vote against it.
"The citizens will see it as anti-police, they'll see it as anti-their-neighborhood," Mr. Winburn said.
Councilman Dwight Tillery pleaded for fellow council members to respect one another's positions.
Mr. Tillery, like Mr. Tarbell, said he was concerned about the safety of the residents but called on lawmakers to consider budget restraints.
"Police officers don't come inexpensively," Mr. Tillery said. "They eat up a very large portion of our budget."
Under the original award, the city would have accepted a $5.9 million grant to pay for the salaries of 33 officers. The grant would run out in 2001. The city would have also had to put up a local match of $3.4 million, in addition to paying for the officers' salaries once the grant expires.
The grant will pay 75 percent of an officer's entry-level salary and benefits up to a maximum of $75,000 per officer over the three-year period of the grant. The city is required to pay a minimum 25 percent of the cost, including hiring, salaries and benefits.
Mr. Winburn said the money could be drawn from the city's "bloated bureaucracy."
"It's fat and it's bloated and it has high cholesterol and it's sick," Mr. Winburn said.
Several proposals to hire police had been floated, ranging from accepting the full grant and hiring 33 officers to the city administration's recommendation to hire 10 officers and recruit those with mental health expertise.
Earlier this week, Mr. Tarbell asked that council hire half of the 33 officers and use $2 million in as many years for a clean-up-the-grime, clean-up-the-crime campaign in Over-The-Rhine.
Councilman Phil Heimlich, who has been a strong proponent of hiring the 33 officers, said he still thinks the city wins whenever the police department is expanded. He said the city is moving closer to fulfilling the vision of community-oriented policing.
"I would have liked to have gotten all 33, but this is a major step forward in putting police in all neighborhoods, around the clock," he said.
