Prince George’s police graduation today; more officers needed to lift development freeze

Thursday, March 9, 2006

Today’s graduation of 45 police recruits is not expected to be enough to lift the moratorium on residential development approval in Prince George's County, since firefighter staffing levels still remain too low and police staffing levels are just now straddling the line.

That line, set by the County Council in 2005, is a target staffing level that firefighters and police need to meet in order for new residential development applications to be approved. Since the beginning of this year, those levels have not been met, putting a halt on approval for nearly 20 new residential plans.

The legislation required the police department to have 1,349 sworn officers by the end of last year, and 692 fire and rescue personnel by the same time. Those levels were not met.

As of today’s graduation, the police department will fall two short, with 1,347 sworn officers. (Only 37 of today’s graduates will enter the police department. The rest will join either the sheriff’s office or the Maryland Park Police.)

The fire department will not meet the staff requirement until a graduation in early April.

‘‘If I keep setting targets that can’t be reached, it’s kind of frustrating,” said County Councilman Douglas J.J. Peters (D-Dist. 4) of Bowie, who introduced the legislation at the root of the hold. The bill provides for new, higher target staffing levels to be set by the end of this year, and Peters said he still intends to set fresh goals yearly.

It is possible that the 2006 levels could be met within one month. The police department expects two more officers to finish training next week, bumping their numbers to 1,349.

Fire and rescue personnel would then catch up after their April 3 graduation, which is expected to boost them to over 700 members.

But both staff sizes would be cutting it close, and developers would have to monitor the levels for fear that they could fall again through attrition.

County Council Chairman Thomas Dernoga (D-Dist. 1) of Laurel defended the law, and said the county needs to link development and public safety staffing.

‘‘The public expects that the county will provide adequate public safety personnel,” Dernoga said. ‘‘There’s been too long of a history of lack of staffing.”

As a result, though, the approximately 17 applications accepted thus far this year will be affected, according to Alan Hirsch, planning supervisor for subdivision under the Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission. The applications range in size from a couple lots to the behemoth Springhill Lake redevelopment.

The Springhill Lake plan, filed in early January and one of the first subject to the staffing requirements, is a massive redevelopment undertaking for a mix of 5,800 units, ranging from townhomes to condos and other residences, on the site of the current apartment complex in Greenbelt, near Beltway Plaza.

Hirsch said the staffing shortfall has not literally halted any developments yet. Planners can still take in applications and review them. But when it comes to a recommendation for approval, county planning staff cannot give the thumbs up if the requisite staffing levels have not been met since the application was received.

If, in the near future, the staffing requirements are met, then applications accepted so far this year could be cleared. But the hold on development could play out again if staffing levels fall below the mark again through attrition.

‘‘The police department loses a certain number of people each month to retirement or resignation,” Hirsch said. ‘‘The issue is, if it becomes adequate, at what point will it become inadequate?”

The Office of Audits and Investigations has tried to answer that question, and the outlook is not so bright.

Though county fire department spokesman Mark Brady said the April graduation will set their ranks at 702, a study of projected staffing levels by the audits and investigations office determined fire staffing would only be safely over the mark when the next class graduates in October. But then, through an average attrition rate of four employees per month, those levels could be in danger of falling below the mark by early 2007.

‘‘Through attrition or whatever,” Brady said, ‘‘it’s difficult to maintain that number over the course of the year.”

Likewise, with police staffing, the study estimates it will take until the next graduation in August for the police department to steadily meet the requirements. But then, factoring in an average attrition rate of seven officers per month, those levels would almost certainly not meet the new 2007 requirement of 1,420 officers until the next graduation.

The result is a volatile game of leapfrog that developers must track in order to get their applications approved.

The good news is the police department has seen a lower-than-average attrition rate so far this year, and that next week their numbers could be exactly at the minimum level of 1,349.

‘‘We’re right at that number,” said police spokeswoman Sharon Taylor. ‘‘We hope it doesn’t [drop].”

John Erzen, spokesman for County Executive Jack B. Johnson, praised the legislation, but said the county would continue to review the bill.

‘‘With all the projects we already have in the pipeline,” Erzen said, ‘‘I don’t think it’s a huge concern. But we are looking at the situation and seeing what we feel would be the best course of action, as of now.”

E-mail Judson Berger at jberger@gazette.net.