News-Record.com

There was a question about an exchange quoted in our story Friday(unposted), "Board majority opposes additional police officers."

In it, I describe an exchange between Tom Phillips and Claudette Burroughs-White about funding for the police department:

While all the council members would like to hire more police officers if money were no object, it was clear that the three representatives from east Greensboro see the need for more police as more urgent. When Phillips suggested earlier in the meeting that the police department could cut wasteful spending, Burroughs-White responded by saying: "Yeah, we can cut some officers. Buy me a van and I'll bring some criminals to your neighborhood."

First, while a plain reading of that paragraph might not indicate it, Claudette was being facetious. But as with all comments made at council meetings, there is a kernel of sincerity buried in the comment. Claudette feels that council members who live outside of high-crime districts don't appreciate the need for more officers.

Second, Tom was not singling the Police Department out for being spendthrifts. His suggestion came after Mayor Keith Holliday proposed an across-the-board cut to what he called "non-essential" departments. After considerable debate over which departments were "non-essential," Tom made the observation that usually there's room in any large organization, including "essential" services like police and fire, to cut spending that isn't necessarily wasteful, but isn't entirely necessary to get the job done. Claudette took that as an indication that he felt there wasn't a need for better police coverage, which I don't believe was his intent.

With that cleared up, it's worth noting that unlike last year, when there was virtual consensus on the budget and it passed exactly how it was proposed by Ed Kitchen, there will need to be a bit of coalition building to pass this year's budget. Some want to spend more for more police, some like Kitchen's middle ground of a one-cent increase, while others are intent on having no tax increase. Even among the cutters, there's disagreement over how to cut. Right now, there aren't five votes in any one of those camps.

Enjoy your Memorial Day weekend.