Police leadership told council at the York City 2026 budget hearing that the department's general-fund request includes several large, unavoidable increases tied to personnel costs and vendor services.

The department said contractual salary increases (including an FOP negotiated increase and the calendar effect of a 27th pay period in a biweekly payroll year) plus prior arbitration adjustments account for a large share of the projected personnel increase. Police staff said they will provide a detailed salary breakout for council review.

Department officials also identified several non-personnel drivers of the increase:
- A jump in "other contractual services" to cover an increased SPCA contribution (the department reported the SPCA fee rising from roughly $33,000 to $150,000).
- A roughly $45,000 charge for the department's records-management system (RMS) where prior payments had been pre-paid and this is the first year the department must budget the ongoing subscription.
- Higher body-worn-camera and in-car-camera subscription costs to align several disparate vendor contracts on a single schedule.
- Funding for two fully outfitted patrol vehicles at an estimated $88,325 per vehicle.

Police presenters said some capital software and RMS modernization costs that had been considered were reduced after a market search concluded the existing system still met the department's needs.

The department told council the police budget will also reflect reductions in some one-time items (for example, software capital costs that will not repeat) and that several grants and special funds (community outreach, equitable-sharing, hospital resource officer funding) will shift year to year as contracts and outside arrangements change.

Council members asked for a salary breakout that isolates the 4.5% FOP raise, arbitration catch-up, and the 27th-pay impact so they can assess the recurring cost to the general fund. Police staff agreed to supply those figures with the draft budget.

Ending: Police officials said they will return the requested line-item salary detail and supporting vendor contract documentation for council review before final adoption of the 2026 budget.