Rocky's wish list mostly unfunded

Another Salt Lake City budget and another spat between the City Council and Mayor Rocky Anderson — this time over whether the council could dictate how the administration hired new police officers.

That feud aside, Anderson gained a few of his budget priorities Tuesday. But many new items on the mayor's wish list went begging as the City Council adopted its 2006 fiscal-year budget.

Starting with the begging, the City Council decided against Anderson's proposed $1.4 million tax increase to fund 15 new police officers. Instead, the council made cuts in other places to free up cash to fund 10 new officers.

That smaller increase will be sufficient for this year and puts the city on the right track toward the administration's goal of increasing its police force by 90 officers by 2010, Assistant Police Chief Scott Atkinson said.

"It's a good look towards the future to keep up with that anticipated growth," Atkinson said.

However, a feud erupted between the mayor and council over what those police officers could do.

The council allocated the money for 10 new officers but made it contingent on those officers being assigned to patrol duty. Anderson, however, maintained the City Council didn't have the authority to tell the police department how it had to spend its money for new officers.

"I just don't think it's for the council to dictate to the police chief that sort of detail," Anderson said. "It's not for the City Council to micromanage the police force."

That critique baffled council chairman Dale Lambert, who noted the council makes appropriations with strings attached all the time.

"I'm just astonished at the suggestion that we don't have the authority to do this," he said.

Anderson asked for a legal opinion on the matter and said he would not sign the budget ordinance if the council acted unconstitutionally. The mayor said it is the administration's intent to assign those 10 new officers to patrol duty, but he doesn't think the council should be making any mandates.

The mayor also suggested the council's decision not to raise taxes was made because four of the seven council members are up for re-election.

"The resistance to a property tax increase may have been motivated by election-year politics," Anderson said.