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Aldermen decline three public-safety funding amendments; dispatch, fire hiring and police feasibility study not added to FY26
Summary
Amendments proposing funds to hire three police dispatchers ($300,000), to commission a $225,000 Germantown Police Department building feasibility study, and to hire three firefighters ($450,000) all failed on roll calls. Board members said departments are addressing needs and staff will continue planning work.
The Germantown Board of Mayor and Aldermen voted down three separate amendments seeking to add personnel and feasibility-study funding for public-safety functions as part of the FY26 budget.
Alderman Salvaggio proposed all three amendments: $300,000 to hire three police dispatchers; $225,000 for a Germantown Police Department (GPD) building expansion feasibility study; and $450,000 to hire three additional firefighters. Each measure was debated in turn and then lost on a roll call.
On the dispatch amendment, proponents stressed the 911 dispatch role is high stress and that dispatchers currently perform multiple duties including jail operations. "The dispatchers will move over there [to the new Administration Section of City Hall] ... currently, the dispatchers also run the jail," Alderman Sanders said, urging the board to plan for trained personnel. Opponents and some finance liaisons cautioned that staffing plans were under review with the police chief and that adding positions in the budget can affect future grant eligibility; Alderman Yulicki noted grants typically fund incremental positions and inserting positions into the city budget can limit grant flexibility.
The GPD building feasibility study amendment drew discussion about timing because a county PSAP project and related timelines remain in flux. Vice Mayor Gibson and others said the police department has been conducting internal reviews and that an in-house evaluation may suffice for now. "I would put a lot of faith and confidence in Chief Fisher who was a primary member of the apartment moratorium where we could have spent about $250,000 for an outside consultant to do all that work. We were able to do it in house," she said.
On firefighters, supporters emphasized operational needs and response-time considerations; critics again cited the city’s constrained FY26 debt and staffing plans already included in the proposed budget.
Clerk roll calls recorded the following outcomes: dispatch amendment failed (Yes: Salvaggio; No: Gibson, Hicks, Yulicki and others where recorded — final tally on roll call showed majority opposed); feasibility study amendment failed (motion failed on roll call); firefighter hires amendment failed (motion failed on roll call). In each case the meeting record shows a mix of votes with Salvaggio typically the lone yes or among very few yes votes; the motions did not pass.
Board members directed continued collaboration between department chiefs, administration and the Finance Advisory Committee to refine staffing plans, grant strategies and timing for potential capital projects. Chief and staff-level planning and grant pursuit will continue outside of these specific FY26 additions.
Votes at a glance: amendment to add $300,000 for three police dispatchers — failed; amendment to appropriate $225,000 for GPD building expansion feasibility study — failed; amendment to add $450,000 for three firefighters — failed.
