The city of Clearlake has experienced a steady decrease in our police force. It is now time to turn this around to do what is in the best interest of our city and the residents we serve.

On June 9 the proposed 2011-12 budget will come before the Clearlake City Council for adoption.

The proposed budget includes staff changes providing salary increases for all noncontract employees, increases in management salaries, and increasing general fund part time positions to full time positions.

While these changes are all being proposed, public safety is in jeopardy.

Presently, our police department is down 14.5 officers. The current staffing level consists of one chief of police, one administrative sergeant, three patrol sergeants, one acting watch commander, seven patrol officers, one detective, one part-time sergeant investigator and five dispatchers to cover continual 24-7 shifts.

This does not cover officers who must appear in court which can further reduce this level. This is an alarming description of staffing levels for our police department which provides for a population of nearly 15,000 people.

What is even more alarming is that our officers and dispatchers are working under tremendous handicaps because of the grossly understaffed department. They are working beyond capacity, trying to keep up with the needs of our community.

Soon the state will be releasing additional felons from state prisons back into our community. All of this has the capability of jeopardizing officer safety and community safety as calls for service will continue to increase.

Another alarming factor is the recent overtime costs incurred in the police department because of the lack of staffing.

During a recent two-week payroll period, $10,000 was spent in overtime and 123 hours of comp time was incurred for an approximate total of $13,000 for a two week period. We cannot continue to do this.

The dedication of our officers to our community embodies the description of public safety. There are members of law enforcement personnel who are willing to forgo any salary increase at this time in order to begin building back the level of staffing within their department. They are offering this sacrifice for the betterment of our community.

Each day our officers are faced with difficult decisions. Fortunately for the city of Clearlake, our officers and dispatchers are dedicated to public safety at the highest level possible. Each day this dedicated team stands prepared to give their lives to protect the citizens of Clearlake. They, along with our citizens, deserve better than what this proposed budget is offering.

Three years ago, we made difficult decisions to reduce costs which included reducing city services with the intent of keeping our city viable. Both employees and our community worked together during these difficult years. Because of those decisions and the tenacity of all, we were able to keep our city viable while building a once invisible reserve into a small reserve at this present time.

Now is not the time to spend resources on increasing personnel costs. If we do this, then we are misleading the public concerning the sacrifices that were made.

While all employees certainly deserve salary increases for their hard work and dedication to the community, our first priority must be to concentrate on restoring public safety which directly affects the citizens of our community.

Once public safety is restored, then we can begin looking at other areas for adjustments.

I encourage anyone to come to the Clearlake City Council meeting on Thursday, June 9, at 6 p.m. to support restoring public safety.

Judy Thein is a member of the city council of the city of Clearlake, Calif.