Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Police Oversight Ops Prb topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Police oversight offices field budget questions as council seeks clarity on radios, interdepartmental charges
Summary
The Office of Professional Standards (OPS) and the Police Review Board presented budgeted staff increases and faced questions about interdepartmental charges — especially telephone and radio communications — which the administration said reflect internal service allocations and capital radio replacements reimbursed through operating chargebacks.
Administrators for the Office of Professional Standards (OPS) and the Police Review Board answered budget questions and clarified that increases in interdepartmental charges reflect internal‑service allocations for telephone and radio communications.
Marcus Perez, administrator for OPS, told the committee that OPS’s 2025 budget proposes increased headcount (19 budgeted positions, up from lower filled counts in recent years) and higher interdepartmental charges tied to internal service funds (telephone, radio communications and other shared services). The administration explained that these internal service funds are budgeted to operate centrally and then allocated across departments.
Council members raised concern about apparent increases in wireless/radio costs following a recent multi‑million‑dollar capital program to replace radios and a computer‑aided dispatch (CAD) purchase. Finance staff said the city used a capital appropriation for the large radio/CAD purchase, and radio communications will spread costs as part of internal‑service chargebacks while also executing additional vehicle radio replacements and recurring operating costs for licensing and maintenance.
OPS noted it has four city vehicles and does not have radios in every vehicle; telephone exchange and radio communications charges reflect a citywide allocation. The council asked for a clearer breakdown of the interdepartmental telephone and radio charges and for a list of radio and CAD-related capital costs versus operating reimbursements; staff agreed to provide those details.
Ending: Council members asked staff to provide the radio‑and‑telephone chargeback methodology and the capital versus operating split for the radio/CAD program as part of further budget documentation.
