Committee recommends police budget; chief highlights staffing gains, body cameras, drones and Halloween security
Loading...
Summary
The committee recommended the Police Department FY26 operating budget after Chief Miller described staffing near the city ordinance target, investments in body-worn cameras and drones, and increased overtime estimates for large public events such as haunted happenings.
The City of Salem Committee on Administration and Finance recommended the Police Department FY26 operating budget on May 20, 2025 after Chief Miller outlined staffing, equipment and event-security plans.
The discussion matters because police staffing, event overtime and technology choices (body-worn cameras, drones, plate readers and a mobile public-address system) affect public safety operations and city budgets during high-tourism periods such as October's haunted happenings.
Chief Miller told the committee the department currently has 91 sworn officers, with two in the academy and one queued to attend; he said the city ordinance target is 95. "We need two more to reach the city ordinance mandated number of 95," he said. He said violent crime is down while petty crime is up and calls for service were roughly flat year to year.
The chief described key investments: body-worn cameras (procured largely with federal and state grants, with ongoing storage and licensing costs), an expanded drone program with 12 certified pilots to ensure a pilot is available each shift, and a Milo tactical-simulation trainer purchased with a burn grant. He said the department negotiated new contracts that include education incentives and restored certain benefits; those contractual obligations explain much of the personnel-cost increases between the adjusted prior-year budget and FY26.
On event security, Chief Miller said he increased the haunted-happenings overtime estimate by roughly $128,000 to reflect expanded event size, longer tourism windows in September and November and a higher need for on-the-ground Salem officers. He said the department will also seek additional civilian traffic-worker positions to direct traffic at high-demand events. "There is no substitute for having Salem Police Officers in the crowds and on the ground," he said.
Committee questions covered selective enforcement and grant-funded motor-vehicle enforcement (the municipal road-safety grant), crossing-guard supervision (the department took over the program from the schools last year), school-resource officer coverage (three officers plus a sergeant who supervises youth services), and plate-reader equipment. Finance Director Anna Friedman flagged a duplicate $26,000 plate-reader line that appears both in the department technology budget and in CIP; she and the chief indicated the item should be handled in CIP to avoid double appropriation.
The committee moved to recommend approval of the Police Department personnel line item of $13,510,043 and an expenditures line item of $1,082,574 for a department total of $14,592,617. Councilor Stock made the motion, Councilor Davis seconded, and roll call votes recorded Councilor Davis (yes), Councilor Stock (yes) and Chair Merkle (yes); the committee recommended approval.
The chief said the department will continue outreach to recruit officers who reflect the community and noted progress in hiring people of color and women in recent years. He also described operational partnerships with state police and neighboring departments for event support, and said the department will continue efforts to publicize enforcement outcomes tied to grant-funded enforcement operations.
Ending note: the committee recommended the police operating budget to the full council; CIP items (plate readers, bollards and parking-lot redesign) remain in the five-year plan and will be considered along with other capital funding on June 11, 2025.
