Oro Valley proposes 1 new police officer, wellness and data programs in FY2026 budget

The Oro Valley Police Department presented its recommended FY2026 operating budget during the May 5 budget study session, describing a largely flat overall request that includes one new sworn position, programs to support recruit wellness and new technology for traffic measurement.

Police Administrative Services Manager Catherine Hendricks said the department's personnel request includes pay for merit and step increases and a net personnel increase of roughly $275,000, driven in part by the new FTE and PSPRS contribution changes. The department is proposing one additional full'time police officer assigned to the training unit; staff said the position will support onboarding, training requirements and a wellness program for recruits and existing officers.

Field operations and technology: Commander Young described a pre'academy wellness program that covers physical fitness, nutrition, financial wellness and mental health; he said officers assigned to training and peer support will help recruits prepare for the academy and support them through their careers. Young also said the department plans to acquire two additional scene lights (to aid photogrammetry and drone imaging for night incidents) and is evaluating ‘‘Urban SDK,'' a data product that aggregates vehicle speeds across the town to measure average speeds and congestion; staff said Urban SDK relies on anonymized vehicle speed data from model-year 2007+ vehicles with an approximately 15'day lag.

Task forces and partnerships: Commander Gracie (support services) described changes to the department's task force assignments, moving a position from a state gang task force to an auto theft task force (still within Arizona Department of Public Safety) and shifting another federal assignment from DEA to an FBI violent crimes task force; Gracie said the vehicle theft task force is roughly 75% funded and the FBI task force provides a reimbursed overtime and vehicle assignment.

Grants and reimbursement: Hendricks noted multiple ongoing grant programs that offset operating costs, including Stonegarden overtime funds, GOHS DUI and speed enforcement grants, a $125,000 two'year recruitment and retention grant through DPS (Performance Protocol) and opioid settlement money used for related training; she said SRO reimbursements from Amphitheater School District and other grant reimbursements contributed to the department's revenue this year. The department also reported that it received roughly $1 million in grant revenues in the current fiscal year to date.

Council questions: Vice Mayor Barrett and Council Member Murphy asked about the new training officer's duties and about how Urban SDK data is collected and whether it provides anonymized aggregate data; Young said the system provides average speeds and top speeds and is used as a diagnostic tool rather than an enforcement-only product. Council members asked about funding for positions and whether cost sharing with other departments was planned; staff said funding is in the police operating budget and functional access will be shared with public works for traffic planning.

Concluding remarks: Hendricks and commanders said the department had kept its overall budget nearly flat, shifting items between capital and O&M where the capitalization threshold changed, and highlighted accreditations and safety rankings the department has earned.