Cedar Rapids hiring freeze over: Hiring 4 new police officers gets go-ahead

CEDAR RAPIDS — So much for the temporary freeze on new spending that City Manager Jeff Pomeranz imposed two weeks ago to give him and the City Council time to sort out the possible threat to $3 million the city earns annually from its traffic enforcement cameras.

Cedar Rapids and the Iowa Department of Transportation are fighting in state court over the city's placement of speed cameras on Interstate 380. Pomeranz said he wanted to catch his breath and consider the ramifications of lost revenue should the city lose during this budget year.

Tuesday, though, the city manager said he has consulted with the council and decided to push ahead with new spending plans for the budget that began July 1.

The top priority, he said, is hiring four new officers so the Police Department can create a special neighborhood team — the police community action team — to focus on hot spots when gunfire, violence and other problems surface.

'These new police positions were my top budget priority,' he said. 'Public safety is the No. 1 priority of the City Council. These new officers are going to be a part of our strategy to keep Cedar Rapids a very, very safe community.'

Two weeks ago, Pomerantz said his temporary hold on new spending amounted to about $1 million in an annual general fund budget of about $117 million.

Setting the hold aside, he said, will allow other new spending decisions to move ahead. Those include $127,000 for a special maintenance program for city parks in and around downtown, an inspector to support the SAFE-CR nuisance abatement program, an additional economic development specialist and an intern in the Community Development and Planning Department.

'We evaluated the city's fiscal position, as well as the need for these new officers and other new employees in the budget, and we've determined that our financial position is extremely strong, we have substantial reserves and we just have to move forward on the budget that was approved by the City Council,' Pomeranz said.

He said it made sense to 'take a timeout' to review the court case and its potential impact.

'We wanted to evaluate our position and make sure everyone is on board with our direction, and they are,' he said.

Mayor Ron Corbett said Tuesday the council did not want to find itself making a 'knee-jerk reaction' should the court case go against the city. Budget adjustments are easier at the start of a budget year than in the middle of it, he said.

'As we looked at it, the traffic camera revenue is a real small percentage of our budget, and we decided we have the capacity within the budget to maintain the new hires regardless of the court case,' the mayor said.

This spring, the DOT ordered the city to remove traffic enforcement cameras at two spots — the most lucrative locations — near the S-curve on I-380 and to move cameras at two other spots to new locations in the S-curve. The city has estimated it could lose $2.2 million a year of its $3 million in net camera revenue if it complied with the DOT order.

The City Council voted unanimously in June to fight the DOT in court.

Pomeranz said he believes the city's legal position is strong, 'but no matter what happens, it's critical we move forward to fund those positions in the budget. Particularly the police positions.'