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Police Budget Advisory Board urges staffing, vehicle and records investments; flags shooting range and data gaps
Summary
The Police Budget Advisory Board presented recommendations to the council calling for restored officer positions, more reliable patrol vehicles, improvements to records management and upgrades to the department shooting range and facilities.
Members of Geneva’s Police Budget Advisory Board told the City Council they want the city to restore abolished patrol positions, invest in reliable patrol vehicles, upgrade the records management system and improve the police shooting range and other facilities.
“We should be at 34 police officers,” said Anthony Noon, chair of the Police Budget Advisory Board, describing a 2020 Division of Criminal Justice Services staffing study that recommended a 34‑person minimum. Noon said Geneva currently has 31 full‑time officers, with two vacancies and one officer on long‑term disability, and he urged restoring two abolished positions that remain absent from the department’s authorized headcount.
The nut graf: the advisory board recommended hiring and retention incentives, replacement vehicles to maintain patrol capacity, improved data systems to support federal grant applications and a modest capital program to repair the shooting range and Public Safety Building infrastructure.
Board members said patrol vehicle reliability is an operational problem: several Dodge Durangos have repeated coolant or maintenance issues, and the department recently had multiple cars out of service at once. “On one day they had three vehicles out for maintenance and an officer inside the Public Safety Building because they didn't have a patrol vehicle for them to drive,” Noon said.
On data systems, the board cautioned that Geneva’s records management system lacks some fields and reporting capability needed to apply for federal grants and to analyze service patterns. “If we don't have a good system for our officers to put in their information, then we're not gonna be able to have that data to understand what is happening,” a board member said.
Board members also described the shooting range at a remote city facility as “rustic” and noted the site lacks basic amenities such as usable bathrooms and consistent ventilation for evidence and training work. They asked council to consider capital repairs to make the facility usable for officer qualification and training without long travel times.
Councilors asked about the cost and process to restore abolished positions; staff and the chief said positions that were abolished must be recreated through the budget/resolution process and civil service steps and reminded the council that training and entry costs for a new officer total roughly $100,000–$120,000 in the first year, with annual fully‑loaded costs higher as officers progress through salary steps.
The board also proposed exploring targeted incentives for recruiting and retaining officers (for example, distinct assignments such as K‑9 or marine patrols) and discussed potential new equipment such as drone capability. The chief said enforcement and overtime strategies will also include reimbursable state speed‑week funding and that the department is coordinating county‑level record system transitions.
