Deep cuts in the Sacramento Police Department's budget have prompted officials to call on elite detectives to replace part-time officers as Mayor Heather Fargo's drivers and bodyguards.

Two weeks ago, four detectives with the Criminal Intelligence Unit joined the mayor's security detail. They rotate shifts, ferrying her on city-related business as well as campaign events – and the detective on duty keeps watch on the mayor.

City officials said they first assigned police protection to Fargo in 2006 after an FBI and police threat assessment deemed it necessary. No follow-up review was conducted, and police officials said no threats had been made against the mayor.

Fargo said Wednesday that she would not forgo the security detail, unless the Police Department told her "Sacramento is so safe, we think we don't have to" provide protection.

She said she never requested the security and that she hadn't talked to Police Chief Rick Braziel about the shift to full-time detectives.

"It's not a choice for me of who they assign," she said.

Police officials said any decision about whether to pull Fargo's protection lies with City Manager Ray Kerridge.

Kerridge defended the practice Wednesday, citing the recent slaying of Fairfield City Councilman Matt Garcia as evidence that elected officials should have security.

"As far as I'm concerned it's the threat that is at issue here, and that hasn't changed," Kerridge said.

Part-time reserve officers previously handled the protection duties, but those positions were eliminated recently after the department fell short of meeting its directive to cut $15.9 million from the 2007-08 budget.

The department also has proposed cutting dispatcher overtime – which could lead to longer waits for 911 calls to be answered – and scaling back immediate responses to certain crimes.

Handing the security detail off to salaried detectives – who, for the most part, are no longer granted overtime – will save money, said police spokesman Sgt. Matt Young.

And Criminal Intelligence Unit detectives have been relied on to fill in for reserve officers in the past because of their training, he said.

Young described them as part of a "specialty unit" that gathers intelligence and provides security for dignitaries who come to town. The detectives are "some of the best and brightest" of the department, he said.

Young declined to offer an opinion as to whether assigning detectives to the security detail was appropriate, given the deep budget cuts that have impacted the department's operation. "It's at the direction of the city manager," he said.

In 2006, detectives from the Criminal Investigations Unit initially provided the detail, but the responsibility eventually went to sworn reserve police officers. Those who typically shuttled the mayor made $39 an hour, Young said, but overtime inflated the costs.

The department paid more than $16,000 in overtime for the mayor's security detail in the 2006-07 fiscal year.

There are four detectives in the Criminal Intelligence Unit. Their experience ranges from six to 16 years, Young said. They all make about $39 an hour or slightly less, but will not be paid overtime.

Instead, detectives will adjust their schedules to accommodate the mayor when she needs them beyond their typical 10-hour shifts.

Young said Fargo's office provides a weekly itinerary ahead of time and "whatever schedule she gives us is what we drive her to."

He said he was not aware of any abuses, such as rides for personal errands. But he also said that detectives likely would not refuse to drive Fargo to campaign events if they were on her schedule.

Steve Maviglio, campaign manager for mayoral challenger Kevin Johnson, said Fargo should reimburse the city when the detectives drive her to campaign events.

"When we're cutting back the number of police on the streets, to use resources for campaign events is unacceptable," Maviglio said.

Fargo's campaign manager, Dale Howard, said the mayor has not been asked to pay the city back.

"They're there as a function to protect her and it doesn't matter where she's going, it still falls under the same rubric as a protective officer," Howard said.

Police in San Jose and San Francisco, cities much larger than Sacramento, both provide security details for their mayors. Police in Fresno and Oakland – similar in size to Sacramento – do not.

Call The Bee's Kim Minugh, (916) 321-1038.