Council split on adding a police officer as staff seeks ways to close $125k gap

Hot Springs — Councilors were deeply divided over a police department request for an additional officer on the heels of budget figures showing a six-figure shortfall.

The police chief sought authority to add a ninth sworn officer, and staff presented an estimated onboarding cost in the range of $97,438 for salary, benefits and associated personnel costs. Supporters said the hire was a safety measure to reduce single-officer responses and the risks that come when an officer faces a high-risk call alone.

Mayor urged caution weighing fiscal and safety trade-offs. "I can't in good conscience ask all the other departments to take significant hits to their budgets and not ask the police department to do the same thing," the mayor said, arguing that citywide fairness and fiscal constraints must be balanced against the police request.

Other supporters said recurring overtime and single-officer shifts create safety and liability concerns. Opponents countered that adding an ongoing staff expense now would worsen the city’s projected deficit and that some overtime and equipment costs might be mitigated without hiring immediately.

By the end of the night the council remained split (several members said they were at a 4–4 split), and members agreed to revisit the request after one-on-one conversations with the police chief and at the next scheduled budget session. Staff removed the additional officer from the working spreadsheets pending further council consensus.

The debate centered on two choices: add recurring personnel costs to address operational risk, or delay hiring while forcing other near-term cuts to get to a structurally balanced budget.