Police, fire outline hiring, equipment and overtime in 2025 budget presentation

Public safety officials presented the Department of Public Safety's 2025 budget at the Sept. 12 Newark Municipal Council hearing and described staffing changes, contractual salary increases and equipment investments.

Police: Director Ivan Miranda said the police budget proposed for 2025 is about $174 million, driven by salary and overtime increases tied to recently negotiated contracts for superior officers, officers and deputy chiefs through 2027. Miranda reported recent recruiting success: the department hired 76 officers in the prior year and welcomed an additional 53 recruits in the latest class.

Miranda also described revenue and equipment: the department receives revenue from motor-vehicle and parking enforcement (Miranda cited about $9.7 million year to date and projected up to $14 million if trends continue). He said the department bought eight drones, four assigned to precincts and four used in field operations, and purchased 40 additional TASERs using $1.3 million in forfeiture funds. Miranda said the police academy is exiting a probationary period and is expected to receive a three-year training certification, which officials expect will expand revenue opportunities for training external officers.

Fire: Assistant director Steve Anderson and the fire division presented a 2025 proposal that increases salary-and-wage line items consistent with hiring and staffing needs. The fire division reported recent hires (88 firefighters in one recent year and 15 in another) and said salary increases raised its costs. Anderson highlighted grant awards the division has received for apparatus and equipment, listing awards including NJ DCA grants and federal/urban-area-security awards. The division said it had applied for a SAFER (staffing for adequate fire & emergency response) grant to hire 20 firefighters and cited other grants for vehicles and life-safety equipment.

Overtime and special events: Council members asked about overtime. Police staff said roughly $3.5 million of year-to-date overtime was devoted to special events (arena, parades, venues) and estimated only modest additional special-event overtime for the remainder of the year. Officials said total police overtime remains a multi-million-dollar line (Miranda said it remains in the same ballpark as last year's roughly $30 million figure). Police leaders described a centralization of overtime assignment to improve fairness and monitor distribution across officers.

Fire inspectors and building-permitting revenue: Councilors pressed about shortages of certified fire inspectors, noting impact on business openings and inspections. Fire leadership said they currently have four fire inspectors in the unit, are recruiting additional inspectors and are using company officers for in-service inspections while recruiting. Council members and fire staff discussed salary ranges for inspectors (transcript discussion noted a range cited as $56,000 to $74,000) and the need to be competitive with neighboring jurisdictions.

Why it matters: Police and fire are major budget drivers; contract pay steps, overtime and staffing levels affect both service delivery and the city's labor costs. Grants and forfeiture funds are being used for technology and apparatus, reducing the need for direct city operating dollars for those purchases.

Speakers quoted or referenced

- Ivan Miranda, Director, Department of Public Safety (presenter) - Steve Anderson, Assistant Director / Fire Division (presenter) - John James, Director, Office of Emergency Management (OEM present for OEM items) - Council members asking questions: Ramos, Gonzales, Kelly, Silva

Clarifying details

- Police 2025 proposed budget figure cited by Miranda: approximately $174,008,157 (as presented). - Police revenue from tickets year to date cited: approximately $9,700,000; projection to $14,000,000 if current run rate continues (Miranda). - Equipment: eight drones purchased (four assigned to precincts; four for field units); 40 TASER devices purchased using $1,300,000 in forfeiture funds (Miranda). - Fire hires: 88 firefighters hired in one recent cycle and 15 in another; SAFER grant applied for to hire 20 firefighters (Anderson). - Fire inspector staffing: cited as four current inspectors; salary range discussed in council Q&A approximately $56,000 to $74,000.

Provenance (selected transcript evidence)

- topicintro: block_id:"s:2764.16-e:2819.93" evidence_excerpt:"I'm Ivan Miranda... I will be presenting on the police division..." reason_code:"topicintro" - topicfinish: block_id:"s:3349.80-e:3423.76" evidence_excerpt:"We were awarded $6,500 for that grant... we're working through that process as we speak." reason_code:"topicfinish"

Searchable tags:["public-safety","police","fire","overtime","fire-inspectors","drones"]