Chief Walsh delivered the department’s August 2025 executive report at the Sept. 15 meeting, providing personnel tallies, overtime trends, equipment purchases and accreditation status.

The chief said the department reported 182 sworn personnel as of Aug. 31, 2025; one officer on administrative leave pending an internal affairs matter; three officers on light duty; and that Officer Justin Comer had resigned Aug. 24. The report listed 195.5 sick days used and 11 work‑comp days. The chief also said two officers were attending the POST academy and one had recently graduated and was in field training.

On finances and operations, Chief Walsh reported overtime increases in several units compared with August 2024 — including an increase in detective bureau overtime and a marked rise in SBU overtime — and cited heavy summer extra‑work demand driven by construction, events and school‑related activity. The department’s state and federal asset forfeiture balance was reported at $300,874; the chief provided an attached breakdown to the commission.

Chief Walsh told the commission the department purchased a new prisoner van from Colonial Motor Group at state pricing for $96,943. The van is a Ford Econoline configured with two separate prisoner compartments (for gender separation as required by CALEA standards cited by the chief), seating with seat belts and two Axon cameras for recordings; expected delivery was December 2025. The chief said the current van lacked gender separation and had been retrofitted, so the new vehicle is intended to improve safety and reduce liability.

On accreditation, Deputy Chief Lafore reported that the department was undergoing a state reaccreditation assessment; the assessor had preliminarily signed off on submitted files and an on‑site assessment remained scheduled for October.

Separately, earlier in the agenda the commission approved a stipend for Officer Kayshawn McDowell after the department presented a copy of his bachelor’s degree (Muhlenberg College) and transcript showing a cumulative GPA of 3.593 and Latin honors. The chief and commissioners discussed the stipend amount at the meeting; the chief said he believed the bachelor’s stipend amount is $750 (or $800 as he initially recalled) under the collective bargaining agreement, and a staff member said administrative services would verify the exact figure. The commission voted to confer the stipend; the precise dollar amount was not finalized on the record and will be processed administratively per the collective bargaining agreement.

Why this matters: The report summarizes staffing levels, equipment purchases with safety and liability implications, and accreditation progress. The new prisoner van and accreditation status relate to operational capability and regulatory compliance; overtime and staffing figures inform discussions about workload and budgeting.

Meeting context: Commissioners asked clarifying questions about overtime, the prisoner‑van need, and internship lengths. No additional budget appropriations were made at the meeting; the chief said a rollover request will be considered in October and staff are finalizing payroll‑software transitions and projections.