When you hear the sirens at night you know it's either police, fire, or an ambulance. Some really clever people can tell from the sound of the siren which response unit it is. We have come to depend upon our safety forces to always be there when we need them. If you have ever lived out in the country, you know how long you may have to wait for an officer to show up just because of the distance they have to travel. In the city, we expect an immediate presence when we call them.

The City of Alliance has a Police Department and a Fire Department. Employees of these departments are city employees. The City of Alliance does not have an ambulance or EMT unit as a city department. We rely on private ambulance services to do that job.

In the Police Department, there are a total of sixty (60) employees. Of those sixty, thirteen are command officers. That means they have a rank above patrolmen and do not generally patrol the streets of Alliance. We have five sergeants, four lieutenants, two captains, one Assistant Chief, and one Chief.

The Police Department also has thirty-two patrolmen and detectives, four clerical staff, nine full-time dispatchers, and two part-time dispatchers. The dispatchers also answer emergency calls for the Fire Department, so they are paid separate from the police budget. The Police Department is a twenty-four hour a day, seven day a week operation and runs three shifts.

The Police Department budget for the year 2001 was $3,745,930.08. Included in this was 34.6% of the city's general fund, the highest they have received in the last ten years. The revenue in the city's general fund comes mostly from taxes in one form or another, such as income taxes, property taxes, estate taxes, interest earned on investments, state taxes, oil and gas royalties, and court fines. The year 2002's general fund will contribute 33.9% of that revenue to the Police Department. This is the second highest this department has had in the last ten years.

The Fire Department is also open 24/7. But they don't run shifts as such. They call them "platoons." Each platoon has ten people on it and they work twenty-four hours on and forty-eight hours off. Every fourth rotation they get an extra day off called a "Kelly Day." A Kelly day is a day off given to a municipal firefighter to reduce their hours worked in a pay period. It's called a "Kelly" day because Captain Kelly of the Chicago Fire Department devised the 24 on, 48 off schedule.

In Alliance we have thirty-three firefighters and one clerical staff. Of those thirty-three firefighters, fourteen are command officers. There is one Chief, one Assistant Chief, one Inspector, three captains, and nine lieutenants. There are eighteen firefighters. Command officers fight fires right along side the regular platoon members. The Fire Department's budget for 2001 was $2,390,207.41. Included in this was 23.7% of the general revenue funds. In the year 2002, they are budgeted at 23.2% of the general fund.

It doesn't take a rocket scientist to see where most of the city's general fund money goes. If you add up police and fire for the year 2002, they will get 57.1% of the city's money. The other eighteen departments will share the 42.9% that is left. This is the lowest percentage these 18 departments have received in ten years.

Folks, with all of the plant closings, the city has a revenue problem. We're doing the best we can to keep the city safe. If you have questions about the budget, you can all the city administration at 330-821-3110.