LAPD BUDGET FACING $14 MILLION SHORTAGE.

Byline: Rick Orlov Staff Writer

Just two months into the fiscal year, the Los Angeles Police Department said Friday that it already is facing a $14.3 million shortfall due to the overtime it has to pay because of its difficulty in hiring civilian workers.

In a report to the City Council, Police Chief Bernard C. Parks said he hopes to reduce the deficit to less than $7 million, or less than 1 percent of the department's $1.1 billion-a-year budget.

In the meantime, a personnel shortage has created a work backlog of up to 60 weeks in some instances.

``The absence of personnel is being reflected in a higher incidence of overtime and demand for cash compensation,'' Parks said. ``The true circumstances are that essential work cannot be accomplished due to the high vacancy rate and lack of cash overtime compensation.''

But Parks said the department continues to face problems in hiring - problems that some critics blame on the LAPD's attitude toward civilians.

``Civilians are treated like second-class citizens in the department,'' said Julie Butcher, business manager of SEIU Local 347, the union that represents many of the workers.

``I don't think this department has ever taken seriously the goal of civilianizing the Police Department and would rather pay people twice as much to do to the job of civilians.''

As examples, Butcher said, the department has had to contract with a private security company for its new training facility, which results in officers having to take over civilian duties.

But Bill Moran, a civilian who oversees the LAPD's Fiscal and Support Bureau, disputed Butcher's claims.

``I have been with this department 31 years, and aside from a few officers, there is not that sense of treating civilians as second-class citizens,'' Moran said.

The problem faced by the department in hiring civilians now - it has a 17 percent vacancy rate, with 600 open jobs of the 3,000 positions - is the state of the economy where workers can find higher-paying jobs elsewhere.

Additionally, Moran said, the department has a problem with overcrowded conditions in many of its aging facilities.

``Civilian hiring is an ongoing problem that is tied to the economy,'' Moran said. ``With the ongoing vacancy rate, the workload is oppressive and working conditions are overcrowded. These are very, very demanding jobs.''

Civilianizing the department has been an issue for more than 10 years as a way to get officers out from behind a desk and into the field.

As a result, nonsworn officers now perform a variety of functions, including forensics, computer tasks and working in jails.

There also have been complaints that civilian workers must abide by the same strict code of conduct that governs LAPD officers. For instance, an LAPD civilian can be disciplined for drunk driving while another city worker would face no action at all.

``We think people working for the LAPD have to answer to a higher standard,'' Moran said. ``We are dealing with people's liberty, with their lives, with their property. We think it's appropriate to ask all our employees to live to that higher standard.''

Mayor Richard Riordan is aware of the problem and has been working with Parks to try to come up with some solutions, said Deputy Mayor Noelia Rodriguez.