With a recent community focus on crime and aldermen working onpiecing together a budget for the 2010-11 fiscal year, theBrookhaven Police Department has become an integral factor inboth.

Brookhaven Police Chief Pap Henderson said since the city annexedto three times its previous size in July of 2007, he is still downfour officers from the number he’s supposed to have for the currentsize of the city.

One issue, he said, is the fact that Brookhaven police are stillmostly having to work second and sometimes third jobs to make endsmeet.

“There are officers here that could move to other shifts and thatwould be helpful, but they have to work a second job, and they haveto base that around their schedule,” he said.

The department currently has approximately 40 officers, butdepartures are a big concern. Henderson said officers willsometimes leave not only the department, but law enforcementoverall.

The problem, the chief said, lies in the fact that the job is ahigh-stress one. When an officer has to stand in harm’s way allday, and still have to worry about paying the bills, they’re oftenhappy to move on to a different job – even if it’s anothercareer.

In the past, when the officers have received a raise, it has beenlargely nullified by an increase in insurance costs, Hendersonpointed out.

“They don’t end up seeing the extra money,” he said. “When theinsurance goes up or something gets added, there goes the raisethey just got.”

He said at a recent aldermen meeting that the city has beensupportive of the police department. However, putting it on thesame level as other city departments when considering funding forsalary and equipment is a mistake.

“You’ve tried and you’re helping in every way you possibly can, butit’s about money. We do need a raise. We need a good pay raise,” hetold board members. “And you can’t compare Brookhaven PoliceDepartment with another department; you can’t do that.”

Brookhaven resident Johnny Perkins addressed the board at themeeting and told them that the city needs to find a way to not onlyfund enough officers, but to keep them as well.

“The lack of police presence in significant numbers has made thecity a target for criminals,” he said. “We have a good chief andthe basic tools in place to put a stop to this crime wave; however,the city needs additional officers and vehicles as well as a payraise for officers so we can keep this department fullystaffed.”

Mayor Les Bumgarner said the cost of hiring nine new officers andbuying the needed police cars could cost the city about$450,000.

Henderson said that when he makes out the budget for his departmenteach year, he doesn’t put any extra money in there. He only asksfor what the department needs, and if it’s on the list, it’s anecessity.

“If I can’t justify what I need, then you’re not supposed to giveme anything,” he said. “If I put it down it’s not because I’mputting it down just to be putting it down, it’s because I needit.”

Currently Brookhaven Police Department hires non-certified officersat $24,000 and certified at $27,000 a year, Henderson said. Andit’s hard to find the kind of officers that the city wants at thatpay, he said, when he’s unwilling to hire officers that were let gofrom other departments for whatever reason.

“We need a pay raise. I’m not fooling with the hiring policy as faras the ones I have to hire,” he said. “I’m hiring ones that I canbe proud of and that the city can be proud of.”

But when he can, Henderson tries to bring in officers that arealready certified because it saves the city the training fees,Henderson said.

“I try to get all I can certified. If I can get them certified I’msaving the city $3,000 plus salary for them to go to the academy,”he said. “It costs $3,000 to send them to the academy, and you haveto pay his salary while he’s up there.”

While other departments will often try to hire officers away fromlower-paying departments or other local agencies, Henderson saidthat’s not something he’ll do – out of respect.

“I won’t steal an officer from another department,” he said. “Iwouldn’t go try to take their officer from them because they paidthat money.”

Bumgarner said he would be meeting with Henderson to discussspecifics on what BPD will need from the budget this year. And asbudget talks continue through August, the issue of police staffingand pay is sure to be on the table.

“The chief is elected to run the police department, and our job isto provide the tools, training, equipment and personnel for him tobe successful,” he said. “… It might be time to step thatup.”