Police, fire ask for more staff and specialized roles in FY2026 budget presentations

Peoria public safety leaders used the budget study session to lay out staffing and equipment requests in the FY2026 proposal, describing a mix of sworn and civilian positions intended to expand specialized capabilities and relieve operational pressure.

Police: staffing for specialized units The police department’s FY2026 request includes multiple specialized positions and civilian roles. Staff said the department would be at 375 full-time equivalent positions if the budget is adopted. The presentation described 12 requested positions for the coming year, including aviation support roles (a Bell helicopter mechanic and an aviation administrative assistant), additional school liaison and school resource officer coverage, and two civilian investigators to help staff the Real Time Crime Center.

“These 2 are again, these are 2 positions that we would like to, use to staff the real time crime center,” the police chief said, describing the civilian investigator hires as a way to allow experienced non-sworn staff to monitor digital feeds and free sworn officers for field duties.

Police also requested a wellness sergeant and a civilian wellness coordinator to run an expanded wellness and career-development program, and additional administrative and property/evidence staff to support rising workloads tied to property and impound operations. The police budget presented for FY2026 was $88,400,000, with personnel comprising roughly 78% of the department’s total spending.

Fire and emergency medical: MR units, training and continuing buildout Fire officials asked for nine new FTEs in the proposed budget, which would increase the department to about 270 FTEs. The department proposed expanding medical response units (MRUs) to increase 7‑day coverage in high-demand parts of the city; staff said the MRUs had improved response reliability in pilot schedules and that the new positions would allow a second MRU to run more consistently.

“MRUs have shown that that has increased the reliability for them to get to the calls in the South,” Fire Chief Bernard said.

Fire also requested conversion of a fixed-term training chief into a permanent FTE to expand live-fire and night training capacity and to sustain recruit and promotional training schedules. Staff noted the department’s recent ability to staff a new station earlier in the process had reduced overtime and allowed additional paramedic training.

Equipment and facilities Both departments highlighted equipment and facility needs: police asked to fund a second Bell 505 helicopter for aviation operations (procurement planned in FY26 for delivery in FY27) and upgrades to police meeting and training rooms and tactical robots funded by RICO/forfeiture dollars. Fire noted procurement and replacement of ambulances and rescue apparatus, and the city described planning for additional fire station sites in the northern area as growth continues.

Process and next steps Public safety staffing requests were presented for council consideration as part of the broader budget package. Staff said the department hires and capital procurements would be phased consistent with the proposed appropriations and with additional cost and schedule details forthcoming as parts of the budget and capital improvement plan are finalized.

Ending Council members pressed chiefs on timelines for facility siting and recruitment/retention strategies; chiefs described recruitment bonuses, specialty assignment incentives, a wellness and career-development program, and hybrid staffing models for specialties such as aviation that would rotate patrol officers into specialty duty.