The City of Alliance Police Department announced on social media Thursday that officers plan to no longer respond to non-injury private property car accidents because of staffing reductions.
“These consist of crashes in parking lots basically,” the announcement said.
It’s a result of the city’s current financial situation, according to Alliance Mayor Alan Andreani.
“There’s a possibility of the city going into fiscal emergency by the end of the year,” he said. For the past two years, the city has been in a state of fiscal caution with consistent deficits since the year 2010.
In part, those cuts have led a reduction in officers that Andreani hopes will be temporary.
“People want their services, we want to provide those services but we just can’t do it under the current revenue structure,” Andreani said.
He said the plan to cut police responses to certain accidents was announced a bit prematurely and they’re still working out the details. He said the city will work to keep the interests of citizens in mind.
Still Alliance residents had their concerns on Friday.
Residents like Joe Molnar said they appreciate having police as an arbiter.
“Who’s going to make sure that one of them doesn’t have outstanding warrants or under the influence because the insurance company is going to want to know who’s at fault,” Molnar said. “It’s their word against the other person and often times that doesn’t work.”
Andreani said another plan to cut costs should actually make reporting incidents easier for residents. The city will be giving resident the option to self-report minor incidents online instead of in person at the police station or on the phone with a dispatcher.
“Ultimately that will be a convenience,” he said.
Reports for private property motor vehicle accidents, theft under $500 and lost property can already be made online. The police department hopes to include harassing phone calls, property damage, identity theft and a miscellaneous category in the near future.
