Salt Lake appeases police on car use
Officers who live 35 to 45 miles away from the city's center were to have paid $81.55 every two weeks to reimburse the city for taking cars home, but the council decided Tuesday night to shift money around to keep costs lower for those officers. Under the council's plan now, officers would pay $56 every two weeks. Council members are scheduled to approve the plan tonight along with the rest of the city's $190 million budget.
It's a compromise that appeals to the police union more than the previous plan, said Lee Dobrowolski, president of the Salt Lake Police Association.
"We're happy that the council was willing to take the time to take a new look at the issue," Dobrowolski said Wednesday. "It's not everything we wanted, but I think it's a good middle ground . . .with the benefit to the officers and the benefit that goes to the city."
The shift came after council members decided to shuffle money to the fund instead of keeping it in the overall budget. The council will start charging businesses a reimbursement fee for the cars that off-duty police officers use while working at secondary jobs. That roughly $56,000 over the next fiscal year will be dedicated to lowering reimbursement costs rather than being folded into the overall city budget, said Dave Buhler, council chairman.
The reimbursement scale changes Oct. 1, the same date that the city will start charging businesses for the cars that off-duty police officers use.
The City Council started looking at the policy at the behest of Mayor Rocky Anderson, who wanted to reduce the use of police cars for officers who lived outside the city. Anderson proposed limiting take-home cars to those employees who lived within 25 miles of downtown.
But the The City Council restricted cars to those who live within 35 miles of I-80 and Redwood Road. The council is gradually implementing the change to give officers outside the new boundary time to get their own cars or move closer.
Dobrowolski said the union wants to take a closer look at the policy before next year's budget talks. He wants "much more lead time than we had this year so that nothing's a surprise to them or us," he said.
E-mail: kswinyard@desnews.com
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