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35 Acres of pure Colorado Mountain Pleasure. View of the Sangre De Cristo Mountains to the West to enjoy a perfect sunset while sipping wine on your deck. Very private living with no neighbors or road noise. Watch the clouds go by and enjoy the nature. Private Lake and National Forest access.
Great layout and design with this home. There is a Large living room with floor to ceiling windows and a fireplace. HUGE country kitchen with a gas range and large island. Main floor master suite including a walk-in closet. The master suite has a 5 piece bath that is sure to please. One of the only truly master suites in the area for this price.
The lower level has 2 bedrooms and a study. Also, included is a Very large rec room with walk out doors and a game room/bar. The Wet Bar includes a beer tap and wine fridge. Call your friends and plan your next party today.
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Jay Carden | RE/MAX Properties, Inc | (719) 322-4939
2015 Silkwood Dr, Colorado Springs, CO
D20 Schools with Amazing Views. Updated Kitchen
and Baths
4BR/3BA Single Family House
offered at $229,900
Year Built
1986
Sq Footage
2,328
Bedrooms
4
Bathrooms
3 full, 0 partial
Floors
Unspecified
Parking
2 Car garage
Lot Size
4,966 sqft
HOA/Maint
$0 per month
DESCRIPTION
Great Briargate home close to Schools, Parks, Military Bases, shopping. This home has a remodeled kitchen with newer appliances, counter tops, and flooring. Newer windows that are energy efficient. 3 Bedrooms and 2 baths on the main level. Very large rec room on the lower level with a private bedroom and bath. Deck and patio with a great view of the Ft. Range Mountains and AFA views.
As FHA Program Changes, Smart Low Down Payment Alternatives Expand
By Jay Carden
The path to homeownership goes far beyond finding the right home. It must also lead to the right mortgage. That’s an important consideration for REALTORS® as the Spring buying season moves ahead. Although the tax credits for first-time and existing home buyers will expire at the end of April, low home prices and interest rates continue to create attractive buying opportunities.
REALTORS®, however, need to be aware of changes announced early in April by both the FHA and Genworth Mortgage Insurance that will have an effect on eligibility, pricing and down payment options for first-time and low-to-moderate income borrowers. It’s now more important than ever for homebuyers to understand their mortgage financing options.
Buyers putting less that 20 percent down have two basic options when choosing a loan: loans insured by the FHA and loans insured by private mortgage insurance (PMI). Both programs serve the market well, and are safer than the once popular combo or “piggyback” loans no long in favor. While many are quick to assume an FHA mortgage is less expensive than one with PMI, the truth is that monthly costs are actually quite competitive, and there can be real advantages to choosing a PMI loan over FHA. REALTORS® need to help their clients understand what type of loan best meets their needs.
Pricing
While FHA pricing often has been more favorable when compared to PMI, in April the Agency raised its “upfront mortgage insurance premium” from 1.75% to 2.25% of the base mortgage amount. That increased the cost of every FHA loan. The price hike tacks $1,000 on to a $200,000 mortgage, for example, costs that can never be recovered when financed into the full mortgage amount.
The FHA also has a request pending to increase its maximum monthly mortgage insurance premium, perhaps pairing the change with a decrease in the upfront premium. An increase from 0.55% to 0.90% would raise the monthly premium from $92 to $150 on a $200,000 mortgage. The possibility of such an overall price increase should not be ignored.
Private mortgage insurers generally raised prices in 2008, but multiple premium structures make their pricing very competitive with the FHA. In general, PMI pricing is more affordable than FHA for borrowers putting 10-15% down. While the monthly PMI payment may be higher than FHA on loans with 5% down, buyers taking advantage of Single Premium MI, where the entire mortgage insurance premium is paid at the outset, enjoy lower monthly pricing compared to FHA at 95, 90 and 85 LTVs. For example, the FHA monthly payment (PITI) for a 95 LTV loan on a $200,000 house at 5.5% would be $1, 599, while a single premium MI payment would be $1,528.
Down Payment
The minimum down payment required by FHA is 3.5%, and buyers must now have a FICO rating of 580 or above to qualify. Those with scores below 580 must make a down payment of at least 10%. Additionally, FHA charges a higher monthly premium for those putting less than 5% down (currently the full 0.55% versus 0.50%).
Private mortgage insurance is now available in every market across the nation for loans with as little as 5% down. Genworth Mortgage Insurance recently issued new underwriting guidelines designed to expand low down payment lending, making it possible for more low down payment homebuyers to put 5% down, regardless of the state or market in which they live. Insured mortgages with as little as 3% down may be available for loans that meet Affordable Housing Guidelines (usually determined by income limits).
In developing its new guidelines Genworth established both Retail and Non-Retail parameters. Both allow for private mortgage insurance on loans with as little as 5% down in all markets, but there are some differences depending on location. Realtors should check details for their location.
Tax Deductible
Monthly paid premiums for each are tax deductible, and the insurance may be cancelable when equity in the home reaches 20 percent.
Other Benefits
Mortgage insurers provide many robust benefits at no extra cost. Genworth Financial Mortgage Insurance, for example, offers:
o
Job loss protection that covers a borrower’s mortgage payment (principal, interest, taxes and insurance) in the event of involuntary unemployment. The Genworth-provided coverage is for up to $2,000 a month for up to six months during the borrower’s benefit period, with a maximum of three monthly payments per job loss occurrence.
o Homeowner Assistance programs to keep families in their homes during times of financial hardship through a wide range of workout options. Genworth alone completed nearly 20,000 mortgage “workouts” in 2009, saving some $2.6 billion of mortgages from foreclosure.
o
Homebuyer Education programs to ensure buyers make smart purchasing decisions. Research shows that loans that include homebuyer education are less likely to default. The Genworth Counseling Saver program offers a discount on the mortgage insurance rate, as well as up to $3,000 of vendor discounts to borrowers that receive eight hours of pre-purchase face to face or classroom homebuyer education.
As a real estate professional you enable borrowers to buy homes with greater confidence. The significant changes being made by private mortgage insurers to their products and programs are helping restore buyer confidence in the market and belief in a sustainable mortgage. To learn more, visit www.smartermi.com.
Great 1 Level Living with amazing mountain views. Close to Ft. Carson. Huge fenced yard on a corner lot perfect for pets. Entertain on your huge 30x12 deck with mountain views. All 1 level living and 2 car garage with workbench areas. _
Briargate Housing Report for February 2010
The area of Colorado Springs that is known as Briargate is in the Northern section of the City. This area is roughly from I-25 to the West, Woodman Dr to the South, Highway 83 to the North, and Black Forest Rd to the East. The homes in this Master Planned community were started in the early 80’s and new building continues today. The schools are part of Academy District 20 and feature some of the highest testing scores nationally.
As of February 2010, the Briargate housing market continued to be one of the stronger communities of Colorado Springs.
Current Number of Homes For Sale in Briargate:
Listed Homes: 251
New Listings: 84
Sold Listings: 25
Sales to Listings Ratio: 9% Sold
Briargate Sales Information:
Average Sales Price: $262,723
List to Sale Price: 97%, Same as El Paso County, Colorado average
Days of Houses on Market: 100 Days, Better than Many Areas
What is “shadow inventory” and how is this going to impact home values in 2010? These are properties that are not yet currently on the market but potentially will be coming to market in 2010. Such properties include:
* houses taken overby banks and mortgage companies
* houses where the loans are at least 90 days delinquent (over 99% of these will become distressed properties that will be up for sale)
* houses whose sellers have waited for the market to improve
According to a recent Standard and Poors report, the existing foreclosure inventory pales in comparison to the number of homes about to come to market as distressed properties. In fact, the number of homes that are about to become distressed properties is 31 times greater than the number of homes currently on the market in that category!!
These liquidated properties provide the market with a supply of homes for sale. Home prices directly reflect the relationship between the supply and demand of properties for sale. Prices will remain level if a comparable increase in demand accompanies an increase in supply. Otherwise, an increase in supply will result in a decline in prices to attract demand.
Breaking NEWS!!! Colorado Springs Home Buyer Tax Credit Extened!!!
The Homebuyer Tax Credit bill has passed both chambers of Congress and will be signed into law by the President tomorrow, November 6, 2009.
Here is a summary of the changes:
The expiration date for the credit will now be April 30, 2010. First-time buyers who have not had interest in a principal residence for three years are still eligible, and the maximum amount remains the same $8,000 for married couples, $4,000 for those filing separately.
NEW !!! Current homeowners, who have consecutively maintained the home they want to sell as their primary residence for five of the last eight years, are also eligible. However, the maximum amount for those homeowners is lower: $6,500 for married couples and $3,200 for those filing separately.
The tax credit may not used to purchase a home for more than $800,000. All buyers who want to get the credit must include documentation of the purchase on their tax returns.
The income limits for both tax credits have been raised to $125,000 for single buyers and $225,000 for married couples.
Jay Carden | RE/MAX Properties, Inc | 719-322-4939
5855 Drifter, Colorado Springs, CO
Stucco in Sierra Ridge with 3 Car Garage and Custom Deck
4BR/4BA Single Family House
offered at $299,900
Year Built
1999
Sq Footage
2,996
Bedrooms
4
Bathrooms
4 full, 0 partial
Floors
2
Parking
Unspecified
Lot Size
6,050 sqft
HOA/Maint
$20 per month
DESCRIPTION
Beautiful semi-custom home. Features include: Hardwood flooring, custom 2 tier Trex deck, patio, kitchen island, designer painting, built-in's, 5 piece master bath. Other custom upgrades include tile roof, 3 car gargae, stucco, all appliances, walkout finished basement. Enjoy the master retreat with extra sitting room and 5 pc bath with a huge soaker tub. Great city views and private parks and pool. Amazing house in a great area, rare find. Hurry this one will go quick.
Are you Kidding me??? Where has my America gone, oh yeah, to the lawyers. Win elections with money and courts, kill small business with the courts and taxes. I am calling for a boycott of the big business model. Since when did one of these big businesses do something good? Oh wait, they employ a few hundred sorry soles that in a few weeks could all be out in the cold while the lawyers and CEO's of said businesses are fat and happy.
I am totally for capitalism and serving the public with a good or service. I am happy to see people prosper and grow. I cannot stand by and watch small businesses such as this one get clobbered by legal costs for taking NOTHING away from the sales of their ONE BEER!!! You honestly think that Rock Art brewery in Vermont is competing against anything that Monster Energy drink could produce? I don't think so. At most 100,000 people might have heard about Rock Art and this one line of beer. I guess NO ONE can use the word Monster. CRAZY.
FIRST-TIME BUYERS: A lively RE/MAX video, accessible on both YouTube and Agent Training on Demand, illustrates that "RE/MAX Agents Know $8K Tax Credit."
A Realty Times Feature Article by Kenneth R. Harney
Quick passage by the House last week of a bill extending the $8,000 home buyer tax credit next year for military, diplomatic and intelligence personnel serving overseas increases the odds that Congress will agree to an extension, maybe even an expansion, of the entire credit program well into 2010.
The White House is also signaling that it sees the overall tax credit program -- currently set to expire November 30 -- as an important element in cutting the unemployment rolls and stimulating new jobs next year.
After an economic policy strategy meeting last week in the Oval Office involving President Obama, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, congressional aides said Democrats generally support an extension of the housing credit.
Reid already has made clear he wants an extension. He is co-sponsoring a Senate bill that would do so for six months.
Congressman Charles Rangel, chairman of the tax-writing House Ways and Means Committee, sponsored the one-year extension of the credit for military and other personnel serving overseas, and is reported by aides as favoring an extension for the entire program.
The White House has not publicly committed to an extension, but has confirmed that the President is seriously examining that option.
An unexpected development that emerged following last week's White House meeting was the possibility of opening up the credit to a broader group of buyers next year - people who sell their current homes and buy a replacement home.
Though details were scanty, Capitol Hill sources said one option on the table would be to provide a tax credit -- most likely at the $8,000 level -- to replacement home buyers whose incomes do not exceed some limit.
The current credit phases out for single taxpayers with incomes above $75,000, and married purchasers earning $150,000.
A politically sensitive issue hovering over the entire debate on extending the housing tax credit is its cost - what it would add to the federal budgetary deficit. Mark Zandi, chief economist of Moody's Economy.com, estimates that widening the credit to all buyers through next August could cost the government upwards of $30 billion.
Rangel's 12-month extension of the credit for service personnel is estimated to cost more than $300 million, but it's mainly being paid for through an increase in penalties levied by the IRS on taxpayers who fail to file corporate or partnership returns.
The New York Times reported that one possible solution to the cost problem would be to divert money not yet spent out of 2009's $800 billion stimulus legislation.
Who is worried about higher Taxes in Colorado Springs? I know for me, that is not a huge concern as we pay some of the lowest costs in the nation. We have an amazing parks system and a great life in our area. I want to continue to enjoy this city and I am willing to pay a little more. I think that paying $183 dollars more over 5 years is not going to break my budget. That is a proposal of $18 bucks a year increase. I kind of like having the fire department, police, and parks in my city.
Please think about your quality of life and what it means to spend a few extra dollars. I know that this is a fairest tax that can be levied on EVERYONE!!! Sales taxes punish the richer so join me in Voting Yes on 2C in Colorado Springs.
As most of you have heard, the residents of Colorado Springs will be voting on November 3 about a proposed property tax increase. (The last to register is today, Monday, October 5 and the ballots will be mailed out around October 16.)
Many people are confused about just what this tax increase means, and given the apparently contradictory information that I keep hearing this is no surprise. On the one hand, we hear that they are going to increases the city property tax by 3 times the current rate, and on the other hand they claim it will affect the average homeowner by “only” $200 a year.
It doesn’t even sound like we’re talking about the same tax increase here – so what is the deal? First, let’s see the actual wording from the upcoming ballot – then I’ll explain some key points that will help us make sense of the issue. Your ballot will read:
Shall City taxes be increased (final year $46,000,000) annually by increasing 2009 general property tax 6.00 mills, 1.00 additional mill per year for four years, constituting voter approved revenue change.
1. The Tax Increase is 10 Mills over 5 Years
The above ballot text essentially states that they will raise taxes by 10 mills over 5 years. It is jump-started with a 6 mill increase right away, and followed by 4 years of 1 mill per year increases.
2. Market Value vs. Assessed Value
I’ll use an actual Colorado Springs home located near Tutt and Stetson Hills as an example for the sake of discussion; the county puts the market value of this home at $211,296 which is fairly typical for the area. However, we must multiply this number by the assessment rate of 7.96% to reach theassessed value of $16,320. This is the number we then use to calculate taxes.
3. The Mill Levy – The city property tax is just one portion of your overall tax bill
Next, we take the assessed value and multiply it by the total mill levy. In this case, the mill levy is 0.066542 (or approximately 66 mills) which results in a current tax bill of $1085.96. However, of this $1,085.96 only $80.69 actually goes to directly to the city. The remainder in our example goes to El Paso county, a library district, a water district, school district 49, etc. You can see a breakdown of the mill levy here:
4. The City Portion Would More Than Triple; Your Total Bill Will Not
Since the city only accounts for a portion of the total tax bill, the percentage increase on your total bill will tend to fall somewhere around 15% for most neighborhoods even though the cities portion will more than triple. Using the same home as an example, the tax increase would change the cities portion from $80.69 (4.944 Mills) to $243.89 (14.944 Mills). The total tax bill in our example would increase from $1,085.96 to $1,249.16.
5. Commercial Property Taxes are Affected More than Residential
Of significance, though mostly overlooked, is the affect this will have on commercial property taxes as well. Because of how property taxes are assessed, commercial property taxes will be affected to a much greater extent than residential properties. This is because while the assessment rate for residential is 7.96% the rate for commercial property is 29%. This means the assessed value used for computing taxes is almost 4 times higher for a $200,000 commercial property vs. an identical value residential property.
What do you think? Does the city really need more money? Should they make do with what they have? Will this tax make a tangible impact on quality of like in Colorado Springs for the better? Or for the worse if it doesn’t pass? The city makes their case for the tax hike here. Many sites make a counter argument. The opposing sides have corresponding Facebook fan pages “for” and“against” as well. You can see the mill levy, market value, and assessed value for your property at the El Paso county assessors website.
Big Changes planned for Colorado Springs City Budgets. Help save our city and our services to make this a great place to live. The Colorado Springs Real Estate community is helping to not have to reduce services.
Fire Department - $3,238,000 TOTAL CUT
Eliminate vacant promoted positions and associated operating costs $1,017,337 CUT
In 2009, the Fire Department cut five firefighter positions in addition to the fourteen that were cut previously to meet the initial 2009 budget. As a result, the hazardous materials unit was taken out of service as a full-time staffed unit, reducing, by four, the number of personnel needed to staff emergency units daily. The hazardous materials team is now assigned to staff both an engine and the hazardous materials unit. Due to the staffing change, and because there have been no expansions of paramedic service in recent years, there are more positions in the promoted ranks than are currently needed. If these positions are eliminated, the present minimum daily staffing can be maintained with a small, offsetting increase in overtime funds that can be covered within the existing budget.
Reduce minimum staffing overtime $200,000 CUT
With the cross-staffing of the hazardous materials unit and reassignments made by the Fire Department to reduce costs, the need for overtime for minimum daily staffing has been reduced. However, this is partially offset by the loss of salary savings from eliminating the vacant line positions proposed above. As a result, $200,000 is the maximum reduction in overtime that can be taken without taking additional units out of service.
Eliminate Squad 108 and the associated six firefighter positions and reduce overtime for minimum staffing $511,865 CUT
Eliminating Squad 108 will affect first-due coverage primarily in PEZ 5 and to a lesser degree in PEZ 4. Eight-minute coverage, the percentage of calls to which the Fire Department's first unit arrives within eight minutes of when the call is received, would drop from 90% to 88% in PEZ 5 and from 93% to between 90% and 91% in PEZ 4. City-wide eight-minute coverage would decline approximately 0.8% to 89.7%. Structure fire coverage, the percentage of calls to which three engines and a ladder truck arrive within twelve minutes, would decline due to the work shifted to engine and truck companies. PEZ 6 would see the largest decline in structure fire coverage, from 88% to a little above 87%. More dramatic than changes in coverage will be the increases in workload on nearby companies. The largest workload impacts would be on Engine 8 and Truck 8, which would see annual responses increase from 5,500 and 1,922 to 6,283 and 2,330 respectively. This would mean that Engine 8 would run to more than 17 calls per day on average, responding to a new emergency call approximately every hour and twenty-three minutes. Engine 1 and Truck 1 would also see major increases in responses from 4,583 and 1,649 to 5,141 and 1,916 respectively.
Cross-staff heavy rescue with a truck company, eliminating twelve firefighter positions, associated operating, and overtime for minimum staffing $936,731 CUT
This would be accomplished by removing Heavy Rescue as a full-time unit and cross-staffing it with a ladder truck; one crew would cover two units. While this change would not have a major impact on first company coverage, the effect on structure fire coverage is significant. Structure fire coverage would decline by more than 5 percentage points in PEZs 7 and 9, and PEZs 3 and 4 are affected to a lesser degree. City-wide structure fire coverage would decline more than 2% to 89.4%. Workload impacts would be felt throughout the system. The companies most impacted will have to cease or curtail inspecting high-risk occupancies, such as multi-family residential properties, where local fire history shows the largest loss of life has occurred.
Eliminate Squad 7 and the associated 6 firefighter positions and reduce overtime $572,067 CUT
Coverage impacts assume that Squad 108 is eliminated and that Heavy Rescue is cross-staffed. The effect on first response of eliminating Squad 7 would be felt primarily in PEZ 8, where eight-minute coverage would drop from above 91% to about 88.5%. Engine 7's workload would more than double, from 2,413 estimated responses before any budget reductions to 5,510 responses: an increase of 3,097 responses. The effect on structure fire coverage is primarily in PEZ 9, where it will drop by a full percentage point due to the increase in workload on firefighting units.
Police Department - $6,216,000 TOTAL CUT
This list includes the elimination of 53 sworn positions and 12 civilian positions resulting in layoffs of 23 sworn personnel and 6 civilian personnel. Due to Civil Service rules, the sworn officers with the least seniority will be eliminated, therefore, negatively impacting the Patrol Bureau. In addition, these reductions will force a major reorganization of CSPD, severely impacting police services delivery and management oversight.
Patrol Officers $2,294,479 CUT
Eliminate 26 of the 352 sworn officer positions from the Patrol Bureau. A minimum of 18 additional vacancies will remain frozen through the end of 2010. These numbers do not include 7 officer positions that will be eliminated due to a reduction in PSST funding. Patrol officers are assigned to respond to police calls for service, work to reduce crime in problem/high crime areas (POP), conduct routine patrol, and perform some preliminary investigations. Reductions in resources assigned to these areas will necessitate significant revisions to current service levels, including an increasing reliance upon alternative call processing and the restructuring of the priority levels of calls for service. Other potential impacts include lack of adequate resources for proactive policing, difficulty maintaining minimum staffing levels, potential impacts to officer safety for calls requiring back up units, and a reduction in crime prevention and community collaboration efforts. At current staffing, CSPD generally has adequate personnel to respond to only one major incident if officers are pulled from several divisions, resulting in the inability to staff a concurrent event elsewhere in the City. Because Civil Service rules mandate reductions in force by seniority, the majority of the officers impacted by this reduction are currently in the Police Academy. The investment made in these positions includes a significant number of hours pre-screening each applicant, as well as, the lengthy training. CSPD estimates the cost associated with hiring and training each recruit at $54,000, prior to assignment with a Patrol Training Officer.
The inability to retain the current recruit class and to timely fund ongoing academies will impact CSPD's ability to hire and train police recruits to fill vacancies created by attrition, further impacting patrol workload. It is estimated that CSPD will have 18 vacancies at the end of 2010, after eliminating 26 authorized positions. If an academy were commenced first quarter of 2011, the new recruits would not be available for field training assignment until third quarter, by which time the vacancies would likely have more than doubled during the year.
Patrol would be further impacted at a time when members of the bureau must assume additional responsibilities as a result of special unit reductions.
Intelligence Officer $90,900 CUT
Eliminate one officer position. Two of the five intelligence detectives were eliminated in the amended 2009 budget. The 2010 reduction of another Intelligence Officer will further reduce the ability to provide follow-up and surveillance on potential threats, prepare for dignitary visits, maintain current and accurate files on persons/groups of interest, and cultivate outside sources of information. In addition, there will be less capacity to determine domestic threats via cyber and open source intelligence gathering.
Air Support Unit -Sergeant, Officers, and Mechanic $877,478 CUT
Eliminate the air support program - eliminate one sergeant position, two officer positions, and one aircraft mechanic position and sell the two helicopters. CSPD has a comparatively large geographic area of over 194 square miles to cover, and the helicopter provides a unique vantage point and surveillance tool that cannot be replaced by single ground unit. In 2008, it was first on scene to nearly 1,000 calls. The air support unit's average response time is 2 minutes, while the average land response time to priority one calls is 9 minutes 28 seconds.
Also in 2008, the air support unit assisted with 357 felony in-progress calls, 22 vehicle pursuits, 115 shots fired calls, and 5 missing person calls. The value of its capabilities is clearly evidenced in critical incidents, such as the New Life shooting.
Metro Vice/Narcotics/Intelligence Special Enforcement Unit Officers $272,235 CUT
Eliminate three officer positions. Special enforcement is a high-impact unit, conducting street-level narcotics and prostitution enforcement focused on target areas such as downtown, south Nevada and east Platte corridor west of Circle Drive. Reduced staffing will result in less focused effort to curb these crimes which usually occur in public view of parks and businesses. Yearly enforcement activity: 242 vice and narcotics cases, 466 arrests, and nearly $43,000 in seized narcotics.
Tactical Enforcement Unit Sergeant and Officer (TEU) $202,878 CUT
Eliminate one sergeant position and one officer position. CSPD will no longer have two separate response teams causing an increased amount of overtime to be worked by remaining team. In addition, CSPD eliminated its fugitive unit during 2009 and assigned the associated work to TEU. This reassignment has already resulted in 42% fewer fugitive arrests. CSPD expects an additional 15% reduction in fugitive arrests from the elimination of the second TEU team.
Community Impact Team Officers $200,278 CUT
Eliminate two officer positions. The Community Impact Team began 2007 with 32 officers and has already been reduced to the current staffing of 15. The 2010 reduction will bring staffing to 13. During 2008, the Community Impact Team seized 106 illegal weapons, $1 million in drugs, $80,000 in cash, and made 500 arrests. The elimination of these positions will further reduce CSPD's ability to proactively respond to violent crimes and gangrelated activity, dismantle criminal networks, and participate in joint investigations with the FBI, DEA, and ATF.
Some of the burden for these investigations will shift to patrol officers further reducing their availability to respond to other calls.
Code Enforcement Officers $65,452 CUT
Eliminate two code enforcement officer positions. Two of ten code enforcement officer positions were eliminated in the amended 2009 budget. The 2010 reduction will bring code enforcement officer staffing to six (two of which are grant funded). The Code Enforcement Unit will no longer enforce nuisance violations, such as tall weeds/grass and recreational vehicle parking in residential zones. CSPD receives approximately 3,000 citizen complaints related to these violations each year. Remaining staff will continue to respond to other code violations.
Burglary and Theft Investigators $362,602 CUT
Eliminate four officer positions. Property Crime Detectives are responsible for investigation of crimes such as burglary, burglarized motor vehicles and other thefts. Current staffing represents a 38% reduction from 2008 staffing levels. The 2010 reduction represents an additional 25% decrease from current staffing, or an overall decrease of 54% from 2008 staffing. CSPD processed 16,051 property crimes reports for victims in 2008 and is expecting these crimes to remain at current levels. This reduction is problematic because the complexity of these crimes is increasing, many of these crimes involve identity theft and other cyber crimes, and these crimes require additional investigative effort and coordination with other units such as Financial Crimes. This reduction will result in minimal resources for ongoing investigation and will necessitate focusing only on property crimes that occur in significant patterns. The burden of investigating other property crimes will fall on Patrol.
Juvenile Offender Unit Officers (JOU) $271,510 CUT
Eliminate the JOU program and three officer positions. JOU works collaboratively with Juvenile Probation, Senate Bill 94 Committee, Department of Youth Corrections, schools, the District Attorney's Office and the court on issues regarding juvenile crime. Currently, detectives monitor a total of 50 juveniles identified as Serious Habitual Offenders who need intensive monitoring, including attendance at court appearances, community review boards, school staffing, and parent meetings. CSPD will no longer have dedicated resources to provide monitoring, participation in community collaboration, or assistance with juvenile case filing and arrests.
Domestic Violence Enhanced Response Team Sergeant (DVERT) $109,378 CUT
Eliminate the DVERT Sergeant position. This sergeant coordinates the partners of a multiagency team allowing immediate, urgent assessment and response to domestic violence cases with the highest risk of lethal violence.
Multiple midlevel positions formerly funded by federal grants have been eliminated, forcing the associated duties to be performed by this Sergeant position. Position is subject matter expert on how to best staff and assign each case.
Training Academy Sergeant $109,378 CUT
Eliminate one Training Academy Sergeant position. This reduces sergeant staffing at the Training Academy by 50%. This position is critical for ensuring employees receive ongoing training to maximize officer and community safety. Remaining staff will be responsible for coordinating this training.
Inspections Sergeant $109,378 CUT
Eliminate one Inspections Sergeant position. This position tracks use-of-force situations and oversees the early intervention program in an effort to prevent officer misconduct and to provide assistance to officers in need of training or counseling. It also conducts audits and maintains internal controls of critical high-risk department functions such as evidence and impound. Loss of this position will cause those duties to be reassigned to other positions.
Abandoned Vehicle Enforcement $52,700 CUT
Eliminate one parking enforcement position. CSPD will no longer respond to the majority of abandoned vehicle situations. 25-50 complaints of abandoned vehicles are received each week totaling more than 2,300 complaints each year. Patrol Officers or Community Service Officers will only respond to abandoned vehicle situations that are causing a safety concern.
Motor Carrier Officer $90,900 CUT
Eliminate one Motor Carrier Officer position. This position enforces compliance with commercial vehicle laws and can issue over 550 citations and 700 warnings for safety violations, overweight vehicles, truck route violations, and spills each year. The position is also responsible for giving presentations to commercial motor vehicle organizations to increase knowledge of commercial vehicle safety to gain voluntary compliance with laws and regulations. These duties will be absorbed by the traffic unit and enforced as time allows.
Metro Vice / Narcotics / Intelligence (VNI) Commander and Senior Office Specialist $201,927 CUT
Eliminate one commander position and one senior office specialist position. Due to the sensitive nature of VNI's undercover operations, oversight is imperative. The elimination of these positions will decrease management focus, oversight, and area expertise.
Professional Standards Commander $142,927 CUT
Eliminate one commander position. The Professional Standards Division reviews officer involved critical incidents and investigates complaints received on sworn and non-sworn employees of the CSPD to maintain public trust. Further, the division identifies and provides mandatory training; and develops and updates policies to keep in conformity with changing laws and statutes. Although these duties will continue, management focus and oversight will decrease.
Deputy Chief $168,000 CUT
Eliminate one deputy chief position. The identified reductions will require a major departmental reorganization, will reduce opportunities for executive level community collaboration and board involvement, and will increase the span of control for the remaining deputy chiefs resulting in less time for command-level oversight.
Recruiting Officer $90,900
Eliminate one officer position. This officer is CSPD's first point of contact with the applicant/recruit pool in the City, region and nationwide as recruiting is impacted by the internet. The recruiting officer interfaces with the military and university communities through education programs and career assistance, represents the department at career fairs, and communicates regularly with potential candidates to encourage their participation in the application process and ensure CSPD is able to recruit highly qualified candidates who reflect our community's demographics. These duties will be substantially reduced and absorbed by remaining staff.
Cadet Explorer Officer $90,900
Eliminate one officer position. This position oversees the cadet program that allows CSPD to mentor youth while receiving the benefit of volunteer service and potential candidates for future police academies. In 2008, Cadet Explorers volunteered 5,365 hours, approximately 70% of which supported Special Events and other operational areas. Cadet Explorer duties will be reassigned to other officer positions.
Police Operations Center (POC) Midnight Police Service Representatives (PSRs) $117,400 CUT
Eliminate two police service representative positions. The reduction of midnight-shift PSRs will impact services provided to citizens at the POC lobby after hours. PSRs take runaway reports, accept found property and evidence, provide assistance processing accident reports, and provide investigative and operational administrative support to officers including preparation of arrest and search warrants and probable cause affidavits. Current practice of staffing a patrol officer in POC lobby instead of answering calls for service will continue but the officer position will not assume the PSR duties.
Metro Vice/Narcotics/Intelligence Office Specialist $53,700
Eliminate one office specialist position. This position prepares extensive background information on suspects for detectives, fields narcotic tip calls from citizens, and files drug cases with the DA's Office. Elimination of this position will cause duties to be redistributed to other Metro VNI staff because these duties are required to ensure officer safety.
Financial Crimes Clerk $53,700 CUT
Eliminate one office specialist position. This position provides the Financial Crimes Unit with general clerical support, including: typing report supplements, arrest warrants, and search warrants; entering information into and searching pawn data base to provide information to detectives and insurance companies; and preparing background information on suspects for detectives. These duties will be absorbed by unit detectives.
Human Resources Senior Office Specialist $59,000
Eliminate one office specialist position. This position processes documentation associated with recruiting and hiring police officers including, job applications, transcripts, background checks and other hiring documents.
This position provides information to candidates while coordinating and scheduling applicable testing appointments. This workload is significant during hiring and the reassignment of these duties will impact remaining HR staff. Additionally, this position tracks employee evaluations for all department members.
Office of the Chief Administrative Technicians $128,000 CUT
Eliminate two administrative technician positions. This eliminates two of the three positions responsible for administrative support for the Office of the Chief. Their responsibilities include complex clerical functions in support of departmental executives, maintenance of calendars, coordination of internal and external meetings, screening of phone calls and processing complaints. This reduction will negatively impact processing time required for correspondence, requests for information, changes to policies and procedures, and bureau level reports.
Equal Housing Opportunity
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