Honolulu Police Chief Boisse Correa told City Council members yesterday that police can trim no more from a lean budget despite a request from Mayor Mufi Hannemann's office to streamline spending.

While emphasizing that public safety is not being jeopardized, Correa said several non-essential services have been eliminated, including standby pay for eight personnel on 24-hour call and parking enforcement at University of Hawai'i football games.

Preventive programs, such as Drug Abuse Resistance Education, the Police Activities League, and Family Court diversion programs focused on juveniles could be eliminated if the department is forced to make further cuts, he said.

"It's not that they (the Hannemann administration) don't want to give it to us, it's that they don't understand our needs as well as we do," said Correa, speaking at the City Council's Public Safety Committee meeting. "It's not doomsday. Our people and our community deserve and expect good police service and we're going to give it to them."

The department originally requested a budget of $203 million for this fiscal year, but officials said it could run on a minimum of $179 million. The department was awarded $176 million.

Recently, the Police Department and the Honolulu Fire Department turned down a request from the Hannemann administration to trim their first-quarter budget by an additional 2.5 percent. If the city had not allowed the police the option to decline the 2.5 percent cut, police may not have been able to make their Sept. 15 payroll, Deputy Chief Glen Kajiyama said.

Councilman Romy Cachola asked Correa if there was any room in the budget to further cut costs. Correa replied there was not.

Alex Garcia, O'ahu chapter chairman of the State of Hawai'i Organization of Police Officers, told council members that the union is very concerned about the shrinking budget.

"We're not providing the best service we can," Garcia said. "I know it seems like we're nickel-and-diming, but we're used to working at a certain standard. We can't work without the resources."

Hannemann's office recently set up a system that requires city department heads to meet with the city's director of budget and fiscal services and the city managing director once a month to discuss individual budgets and spending practices.

Mary Pat Waterhouse, director of budget and fiscal services, said the city can make suggestions to department heads about ways to control spending and cut costs. She said the monthly meetings were prompted in part by the need to improve the city's bond rating by building up reserves.

She said the group has yet to meet with police officials.

"We're really relying on the department heads," she said. "They know the departments the best."

Reach Peter Boylan at pboylan@honoluluadvertiser.com.