POLICE Discovery of $200,000 will help beef up force

It's good news, but there are challenges ahead, the director said.
WARREN -- The city has found an unexpected $200,000 windfall in income tax revenues it will use to hire additional police officers.
The announcement follows earlier word this week that the city's 2005 budget is a flat, bare-bones document with no money for more officers.
"It's not magic," Safety Service Director Doug Franklin said. "It's actually just new collections that have come in that will allow us to begin the process" earlier than planned.
Voters were told this summer that more officers would be hired with their approval of a half percent income tax for safety forces.
Phased out
Mayor Michael O'Brien had said new police hirings would be phased out next year if money became available; as recently as Wednesday, the budget didn't reflect it would begin hirings soon.
Franklin said the money will allow the city to begin the hiring process for three more officers. Three have already been hired this year of the 10 originally proposed.
"It's good news, but we still have the challenges of a declining economy and a flat budget," Franklin said.
The new officers cannot be hired until they complete psychological tests, interviews with city administration and police department leaders, as well as background checks.
City council has to prepare a temporary 2005 budget by month's end and a complete budget of about $27 million in March. As proposed by the mayor, the budget would cut police and fire department overtime and travel -- departments also facing wage shortages.
Franklin said Warren will seek an independent study on the police department's authorized strength of 84 officers; there are now 77.