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Danvers police budget rises 9.2%; chief seeks one community-impact officer and warns of state grant cuts to clinician support
Summary
The Finance Committee approved the Danvers Police Department FY26 budget, which rose about 9.2%, as the department closes staffing gaps and plans an outside staffing study.
The Town of Danvers Finance Committee approved the Police Department’s FY26 budget after hearing from department leadership about staffing, overtime and a clinician partnership with Lahey Behavioral Health.
The budget shows a 9.2% increase driven largely by salary and wages. Department leaders told the committee the town is close to full staffing after active recruitment and academy graduates due in September. That progress reduced the vacancy cushion the town had previously built into budgets; with more officers on the payroll, the town must absorb those positions’ costs.
Why it matters: The budget funds public-safety staffing levels and a proposed staffing study that will evaluate long-term workforce structure and needs. The department also relies on a clinician contract for co-response to mental-health calls; that clinician is funded through a state or grant program that the chief said may be reduced…
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