By  Alexander Marion,  Syracuse City Auditor 

Police staffing and overtime costs have become a routine matter of concern for the Syracuse Common Council and City Administration leaders as they carry out the budget process each year. In 2022, the Syracuse Common Council amended Mayor Walsh’s Fiscal Year 2022-23 (FY23) budget to authorize funding for the Office of the City Auditor to conduct a staffing study of the Syracuse Police Department. The Office of Budget and Management, along with the Department of Audit, developed a request for proposals and selected Matrix Consulting Group (Matrix) of San Francisco, CA to produce a report which could improve workload balance, management, and operations. The Matrix report identified four district bureaus within the department and categorizes their recommendations based on those divisions of labor. In total, the Matrix team makes 87 specific recommendations. The final Matrix report, agreed to and approved by the Syracuse Police Department (SPD), is attached as Appendix 1. Grouping recommendations based on those four bureaus an excellent way for the SPD to understand and implement changes but it is not particularly useful for the public. For ease of public consumption, the Office of the City Auditor re-categorized the Matrix recommendations into eight (8) categories which better help explain the types of changes suggested. The chart below identifies the number of Matrix recommendations by category. Matrix conducted a thorough and meaningful review of the SPD. Their recommendations touch on thematic areas that need to be addressed, and that the SPD has agreed to pursue as part of their own evolution. Some recommendations from the Matrix report could be implemented quickly, while others require a longer time horizon, understanding capacity within the department and other city agencies or external partners. Other recommendations are subject to union bargaining agreements. To further aid the public and lawmakers in understanding and implementing the recommendations, the Office of the City Auditor has identified ten (10) areas where SPD and the City should focus their attention to deliver the most efficient and effective improvements to the department and their delivery of service for the residents of Syracuse   

Syracuse, NY: Office of the Syracuse City Auditor , 2024. 192p.