Council approves SRO memoranda at Loveland schools and adopts 2026 tax budget; several procedural items cleared

The Loveland City Council voted unanimously to approve two resolutions authorizing memoranda of understanding to place law enforcement officers at Loveland City School District campuses and at Saint Columban School.

City Manager Dave Kennedy outlined the history of the SRO program, saying the city reinitiated school resource officers in 2018 and has since expanded coverage. Kennedy told council the city and schools aligned the MOUs on a three‑year cycle and updated the financial exhibits to reflect worst‑case benefit and payroll scenarios so quarterly billing to the schools matches actual personnel costs rather than fixed historic exhibit figures.

Police Chief Michael Gabrielson described how the department restructured the assignment for younger students by combining traditional SRO duties with community relations officer tasks so the assigned officer can perform school safety duties while also handling outreach and other citywide community relations responsibilities. "He's gonna be there for the safety and security of the students, during transition times throughout the day. But when he's not interacting with the kids, he will have the ability to do other functions that are a benefit to the city," Gabrielson said.

Council discussed how to split the officer's time between SRO duties and community relations, and council members noted the school district had made office space available for the officer. Jesse Moore, the officer first assigned under the 2018 reinitiation, was named as the likely officer to take the LECC assignment.

Council adopted Resolution 61 (Loveland City Schools SRO MOU) by a 7–0 vote and Resolution 62 (Saint Columban SRO MOU) by a 7–0 vote.

On finance, Director of Finance Mark Medler briefed council on the required tax budget submission. He said the city must file the tax budget with the Hamilton County auditor prior to July 20 to secure the city's share of local government fund disbursements. Medler described the tax budget format (two years of actuals, an estimate for the current year and a projection for 2026) and recommended adoption.

Council adopted Resolution 63, the 2026 tax budget, by a 7–0 vote.

Other procedural business recorded during the meeting included approval of the minutes of June 4, 2025 (motion carried 7–0), two public hearings (Bishop Park easement and the tax budget) that were opened and closed with no public testimony, the first reading of an ordinance granting an easement to Patriot Engineering and Environmental Inc. (no final action), and a unanimous motion to adjourn.

Votes at a glance: Resolution 61 (SRO MOU, Loveland City Schools) — adopted 7–0; Resolution 62 (SRO MOU, Saint Columban) — adopted 7–0; Resolution 63 (adopt 2026 tax budget) — adopted 7–0; Minutes approval (June 4, 2025) — adopted 7–0.