A fatal stabbing just blocks from the Ithaca Commons last week has the president of the city’s Police Benevolent Association calling on city officials to take action.

Thomas Condzella said staffing has fallen to critical levels, and more cooperation between officials and the department is necessary with violent crime in the city exacerbating the issue.

He said much of the lack of communication centers on Recommendation 1, a proposal to abolish and rename the police department, and he said stalled talks have decimated recruitment numbers.

“We are unable to effectively police the community anymore,” he said. “In 2011, we had about 71 sworn officers, currently we have about 51. That’s almost a 30% decrease."

He said this means the police department is in a state of being almost completely reactive rather than proactive, with the patrol division down to 23 out of a minimum of 36 officers.

“We really just aren’t able to get out and proactively police and address the needs of the community,” he said.

He said responding to an increasing number of emergency calls, like the fatal stabbing of a man near the Ithaca Commons last week, has left the department unable to carry out other duties. These include assisting other emergency and city departments and engaging with the community, something they are enthusiastic about doing as part of the city’s plan to reimagine the role of the police department.

“Getting out of our cars, getting to know people, and doing some of the community policing that our Ithaca community has asked of us,” he said.

Condzella stresses that the association is almost entirely supportive of the city’s police reimagining initiative, with the exception of Recommendation 1.

He said talks have stalled and city officials will not clarify if the proposal to replace the department is still a part of the broader reimagining plan. Condzella said the uncertainty is making it difficult to attract new officers with no guarantee that the department will continue to exist.

“That is what’s causing the damage to our ability to recruit and retain officers,” he said.

So he is calling on city officials to speak out against Recommendation 1, while embracing other aspects of the initiative, emphasizing that the city’s safety depends on its ability to recruit and maintain an adequate police force.

“City officials have to recognize the damage caused by that,” he said. “They need to embrace all of the other parts of the reimagined plan as the PBA has, and stop focusing on Recommendation 1."

Acting Mayor Laura Lewis did not immediately return a request for comment.

Recommendation 1 was initially proposed under former Ithaca Mayor Svante Myrick who resigned earlier this year.