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By RAELYNN RICARTE

News staff writer

The Hood River Police Department is maximizing limited manpower — and paring down fuel costs — by limiting the number of trips made to the regional jail.

“I think it’s important to note with these changes that, in any and all situations, the officers are allowed to use discretion in deciding how a situation should be handled,” said Chief Bruce Ludwig.

Starting in two weeks, officers will cite and release people arrested for a DUII to a sober adult. Past practice has been for authorities to transport that individual to the Northern Oregon Regional Correctional Facilities in The Dalles, a 50-mile round trip.

Officers will follow the same cite-and-release protocol for all misdemeanor offenses, except domestic assault, and non-violent property crimes.

“We want to make sure the officers are available in Hood River and on the streets as much as possible,” said Bob Francis, city manager.

Motorists getting into a “fender-bender” accident that does not involve injuries, or block traffic, will have to handle the exchange of information on their own.

“We will respond if a dispute arises,” said Ludwig.

Officers will no longer take reports about hit-and-run incidents when no suspect information is provided. Complainants must also know when and where the damage occurred.

In the past two fiscal years, the police department has eliminated six positions due to budget constraints. The operating budget for fiscal year 2010-11 is $1.5 million and includes a $24,000 reduction in the budget for materials and services, which includes fuel.

Ludwig and 10 certified officers remain to provide 24/7 patrol coverage for city residents. A new officer has been hired to fill a recent vacancy but he will spend the next several months in training.

“If someone gets sick or is gone on vacation, we don’t want to leave the city unprotected while the sole officer on duty makes a trip to NORCOR,” said Ludwig.

He said patrol officers will now focus their attention almost solely on incidents that directly threaten public safety.

Toward that end, they will no longer transport people violating court directives from the Hood River County Community Justice Department.

Ludwig said parole/probation officers have a staff vehicle that can be used for that purpose. He said city police will provide assistance when warranted by special circumstances, such as out-of-control behavior.

Police will also begin deferring routine dog control calls to Casey DePriest, enforcement officer for the Hood River County Sheriff’s Office.

Ludwig said the city maintains a contract for DePriest’s services, which are provided during regular business hours on weekdays. He said officers have historically taken dogs to the Odell shelter when DePriest was off-duty during evenings and on weekends.

He said that practice will stop unless the call for help involves a vicious dog, an animal in distress or one causing a traffic hazard. In other situations, he said the complaints will await DePriest’s attention.

Police will no longer handle fireworks complaints, unless of a serious nature. Callers making these reports on or around the Fourth of July, and on New Year’s Eve, will be instructed to call the fire department.

Officers will only handle lost property reports if the caller identified him/herself and provides information about where and when the item was misplaced.

Reports filed about lost or found property will be handled exclusively — except in special circumstances — by Dave Phelps, the nuisance enforcement officer.

“We are trying to be as proactive as possible with the staff that we have left,” said Ludwig.

“We have spent a lot of time brainstorming about how to deal with the loss of personnel and funding. This is our solution to avoid impacting public safety.”

He said for the past several years, the police department has not been able to follow its vehicle replacement schedule. He said the plan is to get the rotation going again because repair costs mount when patrol cars, driven hard and for long periods of time, start having needs for additional attention once the speedometer turns over at 100,000 miles.

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Francis said the current budget was stable enough to end furlough days for city employees Aug. 1 instead of waiting until next January as planned. He said all workers have agreed to a pay freeze for 2010-11 and are paying more of their own benefit costs.

Single employees now have a $500 deductible and that cost rises to $1,500 for families. Previously, the deductible was $100 for all workers.

City staffers are now paying 5 percent of their own insurance premiums, up from the previous 2.5 percent. They will be provided with a 3 percent cost of living adjustment in 2011-12 and 2 percent in 2012-13.