Christina Jedra

The News Journal

The state is considering giving the city of Wilmington a second chance to accept $200,000 for public safety.

The money was awarded to the Wilmington Police Department last year to pay for 4,000 overtime hours over the summer, but the department didn't apply to collect the money until October, said state Sen. Robert Marshall.

"The clock ran out," Marshall said, and the state rejected the police department's delayed attempt to collect.

A bill scheduled for a vote on Thursday would appropriate the money to the city at large, to be spent at the mayor's discretion for "public safety purposes."

Marshall drafted legislation this month redirecting the funds to the fire department, which has resorted to the cost-cutting measure of shutting down a fire engine during staff shortages. But when five people were shot dead within the first three weeks of the year, Marshall reconsidered.

"It would be appropriate that priority consideration be given to (the fire department)," Marshall said, noting that three firefighters died from a blaze in September when the nearest engine was closed. "But due to the spike in deadly shootings, the thought was that if there's a need for uniformed police, we ought to allow the mayor that flexibility."

Mayor Mike Purzycki plans to accept the money, said John Rago, deputy chief of staff for policy and communications.

"The mayor appreciates the state's support and its recognition of the public safety challenges we face," Rago said. "The additional funding will help us as we complete strategic plans for our police and fire services."

Marshall and State Rep. Helene Keeley are requesting the Senate/House Capital Improvement Committee modify language in the 2017 State Bond Bill.

Marshall said both departments have needs, and the cash could potentially be split.

In November, then-Fire Chief Anthony Goode ordered the closure of Engine 6 at 3rd and Union streets during staffing shortages. The decision, made to keep down overtime costs, was an alternative to conditional company closures, the practice of closing fire stations on a rotating basis. Marshall said officials should make sure all stations and engines are working.

"If you still continue to close an engine company, you’re leaving a section of the city vulnerable in terms of the timing of the fire suppression unit to get there."

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Marshall said he is also concerned about crime seeping into areas of the city that residents have considered safe. The latest homicide victim was killed near the intersection of 7th and Market streets close to where developer Buccini/Pollin Group hopes to transform a Kennedy Fried Chicken into an upscale Italian restaurant.

"Some time ago you could read a headline about a gunshot victim dying and it was a long way from the Highlands and the (Delaware Art Museum)," he said. "One of the five killings was at Claymont and Lancaster Avenue, which is within a mile of the Highlands and the art museum. We need to wake up and focus on the public safety issue."

Police Chief Bobby Cummings did not respond to a request for comment.

The $200,000 is leftover from $1.5 million the state offered the city last year -- funds that then-Mayor Dennis P. Williams rejected because of "unfair stipulations" and the fear the state would "seize control" of the police department. The state ended up allocating $1.3 million to other projects and earmarking $200,000 for Wilmington police overtime to "combat violent crime."

Keeley doesn't know why the police department didn't accept the money.

"I think back to the summer and the opportunities that could’ve happened," she said. "Some of the people who were shot and killed, maybe it would not have happened if the overtime officers had been out there... Even the relationships that could’ve been developed between young adults and police officers, allowing them to be part of community picnics and movies nights in neighborhoods."

Keeley said the General Assembly has become more strict about deadlines as a result of these missed opportunities.

"If you’re not asking for the money to be transferred by a certain date for the specific project, you don't get it," she said. "It can't just sit there for when you’re ready to do it."

Contact Christina Jedra at (302) 324-2837, on Twitter @ChristinaJedra or cjedra@delawareonline.com.