Madison Police Chief Noble Wray was unable to give definite answers regarding his planned use of $100,000 set aside by Mayor Dave Cieslewicz for downtown police efforts Monday night at a Madison Board of Estimates meeting.
Instead, Wray spoke about Cieslewicz's plan to add 10 officers and six detectives to the Madison police force, which much of the money is expected to go toward.
The extra $100,000 is part of the mayor's proposed 2007 budget, which is currently before the Board of Estimates. Wray must submit a report detailing his intent for the funding before the board will approve the allocation. Cieslewicz requested the report by Nov. 3, but Wray asked for additional time to complete the task.
""The person responsible for putting together the report is very intensely involved in Halloween planning,"" Wray said. ""If you want a good plan, where we don't make the mistakes we've made in years past, we'll need more time.""
Although recent muggings and sexual assaults suggest the efforts will go toward late-night patrols, Ald. Mike Verveer, District 4, said he was skeptical about the police department's intentions.
""I just want to make sure they're not going to use this increased staffing to bust parties and do bar checks,"" Verveer said Sunday.
Alds. Zach Brandon, District 11, and Tim Bruer, District 13, both stressed the need to put together a comprehensive plan for dealing with downtown issues. They said before they would give their approval, Wray and his staff would have to devote considerable energy to strategy and planning.
""Given the complexities of the central city issues, I'd really like to see a plan with more depth,"" Bruer said.
Wray said he expects some of the extra funding to support police overtime resulting from increased downtown patrol and safety efforts. Additionally, Wray expressed hope that the board would approve a staffing study to determine where increased police are needed.
However, a bump in police presence will have to wait, as the chief said the seven extra detectives would not be in place until late 2007, and the 10 extra police officers would not be on the streets until 2008.
When Cieslewicz announced his budget early last week, he stressed an increased focus on downtown safety. But Wray did little to address immediate concerns in light of the recent rash of robberies and assaults in the downtown area.
