Binghamton council expedites county DA funds and reviews multiple public-safety grants for park and neighborhood patrols

Binghamton City Council members on Monday discussed a package of federal and state public-safety grants that would fund uniformed officers in parks, overtime for investigators, storage and equipment for seized firearms, and partnerships with mental-health responders.

The council voted to expedite a county District Attorney grant meant to fund foot and bicycle patrols downtown and in parks, 4–1, to allow the city to begin spending the money before the county-imposed deadline of Sept. 30, 2025.

Why this matters: the packets before council included several grants that bring outside funding to routine police functions. Council members and staff debated program details, measurement of effectiveness and the scope of mental-health-related responses associated with some grants.

Details of the grants and uses - Investigator Kyle Kimac told the council that the Edward Byrne JAG fiscal year 2023 award would provide roughly $35,000 for overtime to place uniformed patrol officers in city parks to conduct community engagement. He said the FY-23 grant’s official end date was 2026 but that the city expected to request an extension to move the remaining funds an additional year. - Kimac said a related FY-24 Byrne JAG request would fund investigators’ overtime for after-hours work responding to incidents; he estimated “about 20-ish thousand” dollars for investigator overtime, a couple thousand for additional gun-storage equipment, and roughly $8,000 for additional training and crisis-intervention work. He also said a portion was intended to offset overtime for Mental Health Access and Stabilization (MHAS) workers who respond with police. - Kimac described a New York State grant tied to crisis-intervention programming and a separate state Gun-Involved Violence Elimination (GIVE) initiative that the city has received in prior years to support targeted crime-prevention work. - Deputy Mayor Megan Hyman described a separate allocation from the Broome County district attorney’s office as funding to support overtime for foot and bike patrols downtown and in neighborhoods; she said the county’s timeline requires the city to spend the funds by Sept. 30, 2025, which prompted the request to expedite council action.

Council questions and concerns Council members pressed staff on whether the programs have measurable outcomes. Kimac told the council there are not “major requirements” in the grants for standardized effectiveness metrics for park-based community engagement, and he did not present a quantitative matrix for measuring the parks initiative’s effects.

Several council members raised civil-liberties and equity concerns tied to the crisis-intervention and weapons-storage components. One council member warned that language in the paperwork referring to emotionally disturbed persons or extreme-risk orders could be read in ways that raise concerns about involuntary institutionalization and the policing of people experiencing homelessness. Kimac acknowledged a typographical error in one form and said it should read “extreme risk protection orders,” and he described the role of judges and the district attorney’s office in any lawful removal or storage of firearms.

Vote to expedite and next steps Council members moved and seconded a motion to expedite acceptance of the district attorney’s community-policing funds for foot and bike patrols. Roll-call votes were: Council member Hotchkiss — aye; Council member Kavanaugh — aye; Council member Middleton — aye; Council member Athmel — no; Council President Dunton — aye. Members listed as absent at roll call were Council members Marie, Madovetski and Murray. The clerk recorded the motion as approved, 4–1, with three absences.

Staff said they would follow up with police leadership, the DA’s office and the county about program oversight, and that other grant-related items would return to council as formal resolutions for acceptance or for budget transfers when needed.