by SEAN KIMMONS

BLAKE

The city of Kyle inched closer to construction of a new police station last week after city councilmembers approved a $35,000 needs assessment to help envision and develop a projected $5 million station to be built in the future .

Brinkley-Sargent Architects, Inc., of Austin, was chosen to conduct the needs assessment that should determine how large a station the city might require and how much it should spend.

“They try to right size a facility to meet [our] current and future needs,” said Kyle Police Chief Michael Blake.

He added that the assessment is a 14-week process, which is slated to begin within the week once the contract is signed.

In March, Blake had requested a $124,000 fiscal year 2009-10 budget amendment to cover the needs assessment as well as $47,000 for overtime pay and $42,000 to fully implement Kyle Police Department’s Coban audio/visual system.

The resolution to authorize the needs assessment, which passed 6-1, was the first part of the amendment to be voted on. Councilmember Jaime Sanchez was the lone dissenter.

Last year, fighting a significant tax hike, city councilmembers slashed the police department’s overtime budget proposal by more than half. The department originally requested $136,000 for overtime pay but only landed about $48,000.

The current police budget amendment of $124,000 is approximately a one-cent increase on the tax rate, currently at 42 cents per $100 property valuation, city officials have said.

Spurred by a low crime rate, councilmembers were hesitant to appropriate requested funds to the police last year.

In a 2008 Texas Department of Public Safety report, Kyle is 60 percent below San Marcos’ crime rate and is 68 percent under the statewide average.

However, as city development and population continue to grow, Blake said he expects crime to follow.

Blake also stressed that his department, matched against other comparable cities, is still understaffed by at least 37 percent. Each shift is required to have three patrol officers and a supervisor, he said, but most times only three officers can be on duty.

A short-staffed police force has slowed the department’s response time to an average of 6.75 minutes. The goal is 5 minutes or less, Blake said.

Each year, roughly 350 emergency calls are put on hold, delaying response times as officers react to other incidents, or the calls don’t get a response, according to police records.