Green Bay committee backs CSO hires, hears cautious optimism on police recruiting
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Summary
The committee advanced police-related budget items that include three community service officer positions to staff City Hall security and help pipeline recruitment; police leadership reported improved hiring but still about 13 sworn vacancies and future retirements.
Committee members reviewed police-department budget details including grant timing, leasing changes and staffing plans. Police leadership told the committee the department is seeing more interest from lateral candidates and recently hired several officers, but that vacancies remain: the department reported about 13 open sworn positions and expects additional retirements in 2026.
As a specific staffing proposal, the mayor's budget included three community service officer (CSO) positions. The mayor said the CSO roles would in-source City Hall security duties and create a pipeline for CSOs to gain exposure to city business and the police department. "We're proposing essentially to in source city hall security... offering some... pipeline opportunity for additional CSOs," the mayor said.
The committee also reviewed lease payment increases tied to equipment and Axon contract changes and discussed grants-treatment timing (some police grants are recorded in separate fund 825 resulting in timing differences in the general levy lines).
The group noted a meaningful drop in workers' compensation costs that staff credited to improved safety efforts and also discussed overtime drivers and use of crime analysts to target root causes of recurring problems in specific areas of the city.
Outcome: the police-related budget sections discussed were approved by the committee and will proceed to the full council for final action.
