Council eliminated that and several other police and city positions to pass a balanced budget at the end of December.

In a Jan. 15 letter to council President Fred Hoffman, District Attorney James P. Epstein offered the city $2,000 seized in drug cases to help pay for the promotion of a captain within the detective bureau.

The position is now being covered by Operations Capt. Mike Menster, but according to the letter from Epstein, it is too much for the officer who handles other administrative and supervisory duties to handle on his own.

"... Menster is an extremely capable officer and manager but ... a major investigation needs a full-time officer in charge who can devote his full attention to the case for an unlimited time," Epstein wrote. Promoting a policeman to captain will cost $2,179, leaving the city responsible for $179.

"I think it's good," said Menster. "We have at least 500 cases a year, and we have to follow them through. "