A tight budget, cuts in police services and an increase in disciplinary actions against officers have strained relations between the Honolulu Police Department and its union to the point that the union is conducting a survey to gauge officers' morale and confidence in Chief Boisse Correa.

The State of Hawai'i Organization of Police Officers' O'ahu chapter board voted unanimously Oct. 28 to commission the survey after discussing "concerns regarding the leadership, working conditions and morale of officers of the Honolulu Police Department," according to a Nov. 3 letter sent with the two-page survey to the union's 2,000-plus O'ahu members.

The union and Correa's administration have been at odds over a number of issues, most notably the handling of an ever-shrinking budget and what the union deems an unfair system for disciplining officers.

Detective Alex Garcia, SHOPO O'ahu chapter chairman, said the department has not talked openly about cuts in services or changes in practices brought on by a $27 million budget shortfall for fiscal year 2005-06. Spotty staffing of beats is also affecting officer safety, the union alleges.

Additionally, the union is put off by what it sees as an administration that punishes officers before verifying allegations, Garcia said.

The union agreed on Aug. 26 to hold off on the survey after a meeting with Correa and his staff, Garcia said. But the union "ran out of options," Garcia said yesterday. Depending on the results of the survey, Garcia said it could lead to the union asking officers to take a vote of "no confidence" on the chief.

"It's apparent the chief is not going to listen to us, so we have to get his attention. We're asking to get back on track," Garcia said yesterday. "If he's not going to listen to us, he's going to listen to the mayor, the police commission and the City Council."

A police spokesman or department representative could not be reached for comment yesterday.

On Aug. 31 Correa described his relationship with the officer's union as "good." But he cautioned that anytime the department gets a new chief , there are changes in the way things get done and that those changes are usually dealt with by rank-and-file officers in three stages: denial, anger and then negotiations.

"The union is a union, they threaten me. They always want to put that threat to the chief and I won't budge," he said in an interview. "I'm going to be here for five years, so accept me as I am. The Honolulu Police Department is run by the chief of police and the HPD administration, not the union."

The Police Department asked the city for $203 million this fiscal year but received $176 million.

Patrol beats are not fully staffed, leading to lone officers responding to dangerous situations with no backup, Garcia said.

Union officials say the increased restrictions on overtime and the spotty staffing of beats has hurt officer morale.

Garcia said the union is also concerned about a sharp increase in disciplinary actions against officers. As of November nearly 100 officers have been disciplined this year, compared with 33 in 2004 and 49 in 2003.

Another issue is a pending class-action lawsuit against the department that alleges the city violated the federal Fair Labor Standards Act by not paying officers for meal breaks, morning lineups and other duties.

More than 1,500 police officers have signed onto the lawsuit, which is scheduled to go to trial in February 2006.

Each officer will send the anonymous survey directly to the University of Hawai'i's Center for Labor Education and Research for "tabulation, review and analysis," SHOPO's Nov. 3 letter said.

The center will send the results and analysis to Mayor Mufi Hannemann, the City Council, the Honolulu Police Commission and SHOPO.

Reach Peter Boylan at pboylan@honoluluadvertiser.com.