Tempe considers cuts to police, services in first meeting to address COVID-19's budget impact

Tempe residents may notice fewer recreational sports leagues, museum programs and library services as city officials grapple with a budget shortfall in the wake of COVID-19.

The Tempe City Council recently spent nearly two hours sifting through potential cuts to shore up an estimated $47 million general fund shortfall in the fiscal year 2021 budget, which opens Wednesday.

The city plans to make cuts and use federal COVID-19 funding and other grants to make ends meet.

Council members considered roughly $13.8 million in proposed cuts to the general fund, which covers the biggest chunk of the city's day-to-day operating expenses. The proposed cuts represent nearly 6% of the $236.6 million general fund.

The council on Thursday highlighted areas they want to keep intact, but made no final decisions. Ken Jones, the city's chief financial officer, called the conversation "a balancing act."

"Staff is going to go back and say, 'There were three or four or a dozen things that the City Council didn't like,'" he said. "Let's go look and see if we can replace those program adjustments with other adjustments. Let's see if we can scale back the adjustment to make the council happier."

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Budgetary impact of COVID-19

The city has already taken steps to curtail spending this year, according to Jones, and hopes to spread the reductions over two to three years.

Beyond cuts, the city has transferred excess cash from capital projects to bolster its general fund, he said.

The city also has gotten several one-time grants that will help fund specific positions and departments, including homeless outreach and the sustainability department.

To right the budgetary deficit, the city also is relying on a $22.5 million in allocations from the AZCares Fund, which is federal money given to states from Congress' $2.1 trillion CARES Act. The allocations will go directly into the city's general fund.

Jones said the federal money can be used for a variety of purposes, but that there are limits, as it is intended to help cities recoup pandemic-related costs. Tempe will need to be "somewhat innovative" with how it uses the money, depending on what initiatives the City Council wants funded, he said.

"If we wanted to have a small business grant program, we might have to find a third-party non-profit to help us with that," he said. "It's the same thing if we wanted to do utility assistance for individuals. We can't give cash to people ... but we might be able to partner with a non-profit so we can funnel money to that type of assistance."

Calls to defund the police

Council members' discussion was punctuated by reassurances that they have heard the voices of hundreds of Tempe residents who say they want to see a major reduction in funding for the police.

The city proposes to slash $4.7 million or about 5% of the police department's $97 million budget for fiscal year 2021. The proposal is due to the pandemic's economic impacts, not calls to defund police.

Several residents on Thursday demanded the council cut deeper into police spending.

Tempe resident Katharine Zeiders referenced the overwhelming feedback people submitted on the city's budget. Many called on the city to trim police spending, she said.

Approximately 1,900 people submitted written comments on the budget cuts, according to city documents. More than 1,700 were opposed to the proposed cuts, with many arguing they didn't do enough to defund the police department.

Zeiders suggested cutting police further to eliminate the need to cut community services, human services, fire and strategic management and diversity.

"Please don't dismiss our voices," she said.

At Tempe's previous council meeting, 300 protesters marched from Tempe Beach Park to Tempe City Hall, demanding that the city redirect $22.5 million from the police department to fund free transit passes for residents, Tempe’s preschool program and affordable housing initiatives.

On Thursday, more than a hundred people gathered in a park a few miles away during the meeting. While watching the live stream, they also made comments on the police killing of 14-year-old Antonio Arce, who was shot by a former Tempe police officer in 2019. The City Council approved a $2 million settlement for Arce's family during Thursday's meeting.

Although council members said they hear the community's concerns, they are not considering any cuts to the police department budget at the moment beyond those necessitated by the pandemic.

Mayor Mark Mitchell said further adjustments will "require thoughtful, intensive discussion over the course of several months."

This was Mitchell's last council meeting as newly elected Mayor Corey Woods will be sworn in on Thursday.

Mitchell said that the city already has begun the process of downsizing the police force and putting more money into community services.

In 2009, he said Tempe had 579 police officers. It has 508 today.

"What everyone's been calling for in emails and public comment tonight is exactly what we've been doing over the years, and we're going to continue to look at ways that are innovative to do even more," Mitchell said. "We have to address the cuts first and then we are going to continue this community discussion."

Saving services

Council members identified several services they hope to prioritize with minimal cuts, including:

• Code enforcement.

• Ambulance services.

• Technical Rescue Team.

• Kiwanis Recreation Center.

• Staff training.

• Park custodians and cleaning.

A number of other areas, however, likely will see hiring freezes or other reductions, such as:

• Police.

• Social services.

• Library services.

• Recreational sports leagues.

• Museum programs.

• Municipal utilities.

As the city selects services to maintain, Jones stressed that more conversation will be needed to make adjustments and move toward "a more balanced budget."

"In order to make some of the restoration of the cuts that were  proposed, we're probably going to have to look at some of those ... one-time funding of COVID-19 recovery funds that we were proposing," he said. "We have to get closer and closer to this number than we would if we took all of these out."

Have a question or tip? Reach the reporter Sasha Hupka at sasha.hupka@arizonarepublic.com or on Twitter: @SashaHupka.

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This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Tempe considers budget cuts to police due to number of COVID-19 cases