Concerns are growing inside the Cincinnati Police Department about the possibility of officers being laid off as City Hall faces a monumental $80 million budget deficit in the upcoming fiscal year.

Police union President Dan Hils, never one to back down from a political fight, is ready to "call out stupid" if City Council attempts to prioritize any pet projects at the expense of public safety.

After years of saying they'll make basic public services a top priority, the politicians "have to mean it this time, because they have no choice," Hils told The Enquirer's That's So Cincinnati podcast. 

"If they go out there and do stupid pet projects," Hils added, "we've really elected the wrong bunch of folks." 

Click the Audioboom link at the top of this article to listen to That's So Cincinnati for free. It's also available for free on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, iHeart Radio and most podcast listening platforms. Hils' interview begins at the 2:25 mark in the episode.

The city's budget has been hit hard by coronavirus-related economic shutdown. City Hall must figure out how to deal with the budget crisis before the next fiscal year begins on July 1. 

The poster child for pet projects is, of course, the streetcar, which sucks at least $1.4 million out of the annual operating budget. Streetcar ticket sales and advertising revenue continues to be off projections, and the rarely used rail line could require more taxpayer money out of the upcoming operating budget. 

The streetcar is closed to passengers during the health emergency, and the question lingers whether it'll ever be reopened. Hils said he supports the idea of the federal government waiving a requirement that the city must pay back $45 million in streetcar construction grants if it's shutdown permanently.

"They're stuck between a rock and a hard place when it comes to the federal funds," Hils said. "City Council got themselves into it, and I hope they can figure it out. I would love if the feds could say, 'Because of the COVID stuff, we're going to continue to send what we're going to be able to send you (for non-streetcar related projects), but shut that dumb thing down.' "

Hils is prepared to work with the city administration on finding ways to help them save money in the police department. He hopes the city can work with officers nearing retirement as a way to avoid laying off younger officers. 

"If you could find some sort of way to buyout or encourage or help people make the decision (to retire), that could save the city an awful lot of money," Hils said. 

"And then they could restructure, look at some of the reduction of command officers or higher ranks so you could leave the people that are down there on the street dealing with the violence each and every day," Hils added."That would be a wiser move, if it comes down to it that they have to reduce the amount of Cincinnati police officers that are on the payroll." 

Hils discussed other issues and topics on That's So Cincinnati. 

His future: Hils has been the Cincinnati Fraternal Order of Police president since 2015, and he made a splash in his first two-year term by advocating for big wage hikes to make the Cincinnati police force salaries comparable to those of officers in similar-size cities. His efforts led to bigger-than-anticipated raises in 2016, costing taxpayers $25 million over three years. 

Hils was re-elected to a new two-year term in December. It could be his last term because he has to retire in May 2022, due to parameters of his retirement agreement with the city. 

He'd like to stay longer as union president. That would require FOP members to change a rule to allow a retired officer to run the organization, meaning the union would pay the president's full salary instead of the city. The membership will be making the decision as Hils heads to negotiations on a new police contract, which expires in May 2021.

"I think I still have a lot of support," Hils said.

Beyond that, Hils said, he's keeping the door open to possibly running for elected office someday. The Republican briefly jumped into the 2020 Hamilton County commissioners race, but dropped out a week later when he realized it would be a conflict with his job as FOP president.  

"Can I ever see myself in politics in the future?" Hils said. "Yeah, I find it attractive." 

Sheriff's race: Hils originally kicked around the idea of running for sheriff this year, but gave way when his long-time colleague and friend Bruce Hoffbauer decided to run.

Hoffbauer, who recently retired Cincinnati police lieutenant, faces Democrat Charmaine McGuffey in the November election. It's expected to be a highly competitive race after McGuffey crushed incumbent Jim Neil in last month's primary. 

Local political watchers believe Green Township's Hoffbauer will win over many of Neil's strong base of Republican and independent voters on the heavily populated West Side.

"Bruce Hoffbauer is an outstanding leader," Hils said. "He's tough as nails when it comes to following the rules and making his officers be professional. He's also very wise. He knows the community and knows how to deal with big problems. Hamilton County is going to be blessed to have Bruce Hoffbauer as the sheriff. I believe he's going to win."