Yakima hires first of 12 police officers, council learns

YAKIMA, Wash. -- The first of a dozen new Yakima police officers was hired Tuesday and will be headed off soon to the state police academy, the City Council heard Tuesday night.

The update from acting police Chief Greg Copeland coincided with another progress report for the city's Gang Free Initiative, which may hire a coordinator as soon as April.

Later in the meeting, Councilman Bill Lover won approval for a special meeting on both the budget allocation for the 12 officers and the Gang Free Initiative. Frequent ally Rick Ensey backed the request, but other members of the council did not seem inclined to take apart the 2012 budget, which was approved in December.

Under council rules, two council members are required to call a special meeting. No dates were set.

The officer hires -- which would fill six vacant officer positions and add six new officers -- were funded last year as part of a utility tax increase that raised $2 million to help cover budget shortfalls.

As with other entry-level officers, the new officers must spend about six months at the academy. They will then undergo field training and, if successful, would be ready to work on their own in about a year.

Copeland said the department is moving as quickly as possible to hire other applicants. Experienced officer applicants have not been as plentiful as hoped, he said. All 12 of the officers are not expected to be on board until sometime next year.

Lover said he wanted the council to discuss the impact of hiring the new officers on other city departments, such as the courts. He said he was addressing the issue with an eye toward reallocating the funding, perhaps for additional firefighters.

Other council members pointed out that a majority of the council had approved the budget, though Dave Ettl, the chief architect of the officer hiring plan, said he was not opposed to additional discussion.

Also included in the 2012 budget was money for the hiring of a coordinator to oversee the Gang Free Initiative, the city's effort to turn youngsters away from gangs.

Lt. Mike Merryman said the city hopes to fill that position as early as April.

The opening of a youth and family development center, which would help gang-involved families find resources from a variety of agencies, would follow. The city does not plan to directly provide services, but the coordinator and others will be available to point families in the right direction for help.

Merryman said the Gang Free Initiative's advisory committee will also begin discussing how best to spend about $100,000 that the council set aside for the program. Another $40,000 or so is expected to support overtime police patrols to target gang activity.

In other business, the council agreed to hold a public hearing at its March 20 meeting on a revised project list for a transportation benefit district.

The updated list from public works staff resulted from the council's interest in focusing on higher-traffic streets in poor condition or below. The council had earlier voted to form the benefit district using a different list of streets considered failing, but city officials said that approach was not as effective as focusing on the higher-traffic streets.

The updated list does not change the fact that the council has not identified a funding source for the repairs. The council has already voted against imposing a $20 car-tab fee to pay for the work. Putting the proposal to a public vote remains an option.

* Mark Morey can be reached at 509-577-7671 or mmorey@yakimaherald.com.