Mayor asks voters to approve police levy; police discuss staffing and overtime costs

The mayor submitted Resolution R-31-25, described in the agenda as “a resolution declaring it necessary to levies tax to support the police levy fund in excess of the $10,000,000 limitation,” and council moved and seconded the item for consideration.

During public discussion, the police chief reported the department had hired a full-time officer and that the hire replaced an officer who had left; the chief said the replacement would reduce overtime costs caused by an unfilled shift. A member of the public asked whether passage of the levy would raise property taxes; the mayor (via staff response in the transcript) confirmed that the measure would be a tax levy submitted to voters and that the levy is subject to voter approval.

The police chief described the recent hire as a replacement rather than an additional position and explained that overtime is currently paid to cover the unfilled shift. Questions from the public touched on which calls (for example, stray-dog calls) are handled by the city police versus other agencies; the police chief said the department typically handles initial animal calls.

The resolution was submitted by the mayor; the transcript records motion and second but does not include a recorded roll-call tally for R-31-25 in the provided excerpt. The transcript also includes the council’s later discussion of hiring and funding more broadly, including that the previous levy request for additional officers had failed and that the current levy would seek to maintain staffing levels.