Peoria proposes dozens of police, fire and public-safety additions; staff seeks second helicopter and mobile communications backup

Peoria city staff asked the City Council to fund new positions and equipment for police, fire and court operations in the FY2026 proposed budget, saying the additions support growing service demand and new programs such as the real-time crime center (RTCC) and expanded aviation operations.

Police and courts Police requested 12 positions in the FY2026 proposal as part of a larger multi-year staffing plan. Chief Entreary described requests that include four aviation-related positions (including a Bell helicopter mechanic and an additional aviation officer), a wellness sergeant and coordinator, two civilian investigators for the RTCC, a records/property-evidence technician and patrol positions. Chief Entreary said the aviation mechanic position will replace duties currently performed by a detective who has been filling maintenance scheduling duties part-time.

Chief Entreary said the school-liaison program would be brought to a total of eight school liaison officers and 13 school resource officers so each Peoria school has an assigned officer. He told council the combined one-time and ongoing package appears larger than single-salary figures because one-time startup equipment, vehicles and other costs are included in the displayed totals.

The municipal court asked for two new administrative positions and a reclassification of court security to add a lead officer. Presiding Judge Tatz told council the court's caseload and the anticipated increase in filings (tied to added police and prosecutor activity) justifies the additional staffing.

Fire and medical Fire Chief Bernard outlined nine additional FTEs including medical response unit (MRU) staffing to boost daytime reliability in high-demand areas and one training-division chief conversion from fixed-term to full-time status. Martched increases in recruit throughput and a restructured partnership with the regional training center were also highlighted; the chief said the restructuring reduces per-recruit costs for academies going forward.

Aviation and facilities Council heard a staff request to procure a second Bell-series helicopter, with procurement starting in FY2026 and delivery targeted for FY2027; staff placed $3,800,000 in the CIP for the purchase. Staff said aviation adds act as force multipliers for a large and growing jurisdiction and that a second aircraft will improve response and coverage.

Multipurpose facility Staff outlined a phased buildout of a newly acquired multipurpose facility (90 Fifth Avenue) to provide vehicle impound, property and evidence storage, tactical training/classroom space and forensic vehicle-processing capacity. The FY2026 CIP includes an allocation for initial phases; staff noted about $2,000,000 was carried over to start work.

Emergency communications backup City staff also described a proposed mobile communications capability to provide resilient communications in outages or catastrophic events. Staff said the concept is a small fleet of deployable cellular/mesh towers that would create an independent wireless overlay for the city and region during outages. Staff said the project is expensive and novel at the municipal level; they are pursuing grant funding and coordinating with regional partners to test the approach.

Why it matters Staff said the hires and equipment are necessary to maintain response times, operate the RTCC, and support major projects (notably industrial customers that will affect wastewater monitoring). Chiefs and the judge emphasized retention and training measures; police discussed civilian investigator positions and wellness programming as lower-cost ways to relieve sworn workload and reduce overtime costs.

Ending Staff asked council to consider these investments as part of the FY2026 adoption process and noted some requests include one-time startup costs as well as ongoing salary and pension obligations that will require recurring funding if approved.