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Robert Frank, City Editor frank@heraldnet.com

Grant eases cuts for Sultan cops

By Yoshiaki Nohara
Herald Writer

SULTAN -- After having to cut the number of cops on the street last year, the city is set to receive a boon in a $117,500 federal grant that will pay for new laptop computers and wireless modems for police cars and security cameras that can be installed around town.

The timing couldn't have been better for the city's police department, Mayor Carolyn Eslick said.

"Because our police department is tightly staffed, we need more technical assistance," Eslick said Tuesday.

Federal officials are still processing the grant; the city could receive the money in the summer or fall this year, city administrator Deborah Knight said.

Nonetheless, any grant money will help as the city prepares to survive on a tight budget of $10.7 million this year, Knight said.

The city's general fund, which pays for basic services such as public safety, is forecast to be around $1.85 million, she said. That's down from $2.2 million in 2007.

The police department will work with a smaller budget this year. The city plans to spend about $870,000 for police protection. That's down from about $1.1 million last year, Knight said.

New computers and the wireless connections for patrol cars will help police officers communicate better with dispatchers, Knight said. City officials are discussing with school officials and business people where to set security cameras.

"It's going to extend the reach of the officers," she said.

The city is hiring a replacement for former Police Chief Fred Walser. Three finalists have been identified for the position, Knight said. The department now has six patrol officers covering the city of 4,500; one of the officers is serving as an interim police chief.

In 2007, the city reduced the number of patrol officers from eight officers and the chief down to five officers and the interim chief to cut expenses. The city faced a $450,000 deficit in its general fund mainly because it didn't receive projected revenues from building permit fees and had to pay unexpected bills for internal investigations at the police department.

This year's budget was created on a conservative estimate of revenue without taking the federal grant into account, City Councilman Jim Flower said.

"Our budget is looking a whole lot better than it did six months ago," Flower said.