Manassas To Restore 4 Police Jobs With Grant

Council Also Approves Deal With Dominion

The Manassas Police Department got the go-ahead from the City Council on Monday to use a federal grant to replace four staff positions cut because of budget constraints this year.

The $767,000 grant is administered by the U.S. Department of Justice and is part of about $4 billion the federal economic stimulus package provided to the agency to enhance state, local and tribal law enforcement. Manassas Police Chief John J. Skinner said the city is one of seven jurisdictions in Virginia and the only one in Northern Virginia to receive such a grant.

"I'm appreciative of this federal stimulus grant opportunity, and I appreciate City Council's support in accepting the large grant award," Skinner said. "This will bring us back to our previous sworn officer strength before the budget cuts last year."

The grant, which came from Justice's $1 billion Community Oriented Policing Services Hiring Recovery Program, will cover the entry-level salaries and benefits for the four officers for three years, Skinner said. Manassas, however, will have to pay about $10,000 per officer this year and about $5,000 per officer for the following few years to cover uniforms, equipment and overtime. Skinner said that no new vehicles or police equipment will be needed and that he is confident the other costs can be absorbed in the department's budget.

Another stipulation of the grant is that the city keep the four officers at least a year after the grant expires, Skinner said, noting that the requirement should not strain his department's budget.

"I believe the city is very fortunate to receive such a grant," Skinner said. "This amount of money will fund recently cut positions. . . . We are not creating new positions, just sustaining current public safety levels."

During the past budget cycle, Manassas police had to make nearly $1 million in cuts, losing four positions: one through retirement and three that were vacant and couldn't be filled because of budget constraints.

The department's fiscal 2010 budget is about $13.9 million and includes 91 full-time sworn officers. Skinner said it will take about 90 days to hire the new staff members.

Also at Monday's meeting, the council approved a $1.3 billion power supply arrangement with Dominion Virginia Power.

The 20-year contract will be arranged through the Virginia Municipal Electric Association and take effect January 2011, when the current contract ends. It will increase residential electric rates 21 percent over the following three years, Manassas Utilities Director Michael C. Moon said.

Electric bills across the state are expected to increase because of rising fuel costs and construction costs associated with power generation projects that Dominion says are needed to efficiently serve customers.

But because the city acts as the electric supplier, has low overhead, is not-for-profit and sets rates, the bills of the 15,000 Manassas customers will remain low relative to electric users across the state, Moon said. Historically, residential rates in Manassas have been 10 percent below Dominion's and 25 percent below the Northern Virginia Electric Cooperative's, he said.

Manassas residents can expect about a 6 percent increase in their rate annually starting in 2011. In 2014, that increase should drop to about 4.3 percent. Bills in 2011 should average about $101 a month, compared with $95 next year. In the past two years, electric bills for residential customers in Manassas went up 1.5 and 2 percent.

Moon said that after researching various options for two years, city officials concluded that continuing their agreement with Dominion was the most cost-effective option.