The police budget is $520 million, 23 percent of the county budget.

The true fact is we are no longer prepared to fund them, because we've cut the police budget.

And, he noted, not cutting the police budget would mean additional cuts in other services, like education.

"Our police budget has more than doubled since 9/11 to $30 million, and that will grow."

The separate police budget was one of several others to take a hit (9%).

And Democrats won only a $12 million cut from the police budget.

But it is not known if the directly elected person would have the final say over police budgets and strategy.

But with 95 percent of the police budget dominated by personnel costs, they said, there is simply no place else left to cut.

For the first time, there is a small cut in the police budget.

Though the police budget is up 2.5 percent, he said that was the smallest increase in five years.