The Emanuel administration has used gimmicks to cover costs and shortchange frontline services. According to my budget analysts, the mayor cut $800,000 and 13 community policing positions in 2014, then restored 12 of those positions to the 2015 budget — the basis of his claim that he "expanded" CAPS in this election year. My budget analysts report that he has done the same for nearly everything — from rodent control and tree trimming to the number of officers in the Police Department. A WBEZ analysis of city payroll records documented that the number of police has gone down by almost 400 since Mayor Emanuel took office.