Original Article Police Dept. gets funding for attorney Katie Nelson The Arizona Republic May. 11, 2005 12:00 AM Tempe's Police Department soon will have its own attorney on call 24-hours a day. The department is joining others in the Valley, including Phoenix, Mesa, Gilbert, Chandler and Glendale, that have their own in-house legal staff. The attorney position is just one of the Tempe Public Safety Departments' slots for which the City Council has approved funding. Both the Police and Fire departments wanted about $500,000 each to boost their departments with at least 21 hires. Most would be replacements for employees who will retire in the next year. "It's an aggressive way of filling positions and keeping people in the pipeline," Police Chief Ralph Tranter said. And the in-house legal adviser is needed, not because the department is being sued more often but rather to be pro-active, Tranter said. "Given the demands we face with the level of activity because of all the special events, it's important we have immediate access (to a legal adviser) to help us out on the complex and criminal and civil situations that we deal with," he said. Now, Tempe police get legal advice from the City Attorney's Office on an as-needed basis after a sticky situation arises. But the full-time attorney on staff would be available as events happen and could coach police officers on the best way to handle the situation. Dealing with child custody or landlord-tenant or business partner disputes could fall into this category, police said. "We need someone with a legal background who understands all the nuances," Tranter said. "As of now we don't have anyone who has the time or the expertise." The adviser will sit in on command staff meetings to answer administrative questions, and would be asked to develop training that the department could conduct for police officers based on litigation trends, Tranter said. In all, the Police and Fire departments landed more than a million additional dollars. Police received $472,000; Fire requests were funded with $561,000. About 40 percent of the expense will be offset by fire and court revenues or budget shifts, according to calculations by the city's Financial Services Department. The difference is being provided from contingency reserve funds. In addition to the legal adviser, the Police Department money will go toward hiring four to eight officers to replace a group that will be retiring, as well as hiring two dispatchers. The Fire Department asked for money to fill 12 firefighter slots. The department also received funds for a new medical transportation contract supervisor and an additional fire inspector, a position that might be broken up into part-time work, said Assistant Fire Chief Jim Gaintner. The money also will help pay for firefighter medical exams, and truck and machinery repairs.