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Council approves one additional officer for 2026; debate resurfaces over library funding and property-tax priorities
Summary
Council agreed to add one officer in 2026 to backfill a detective promotion and discussed library funding via property tax and whether public safety should be prioritized; staff explained property-tax allocations and the 23.8% historical library percentage.
Councilors reviewed a request to add one law-enforcement officer to the 2026 budget to backfill a detective promotion and restore investigative capacity. The deputy chief said the department had added an officer in 2025 but needs another to allow a detective to return to investigations amid an increase in crimes requiring follow-up.
"We did, and we haven't got then we have another officer that's needed to be done," the deputy chief explained, adding the hire would allow the department to maintain patrol staffing while increasing detective capacity.
Separately, Council member Kennedy questioned the allocation of property-tax revenue to the library and whether public safety should be the primary beneficiary: he noted that under the current budget the property-tax portion funds the library at 100% while covering about 27.5% of police operations. Staff explained that a prior ordinance established a 23.8% benchmark and that the council previously removed the fixed-percentage provision; as a result, the library's budget is set within the general fund this cycle and is influenced by overall revenue and council priorities.
Councilors debated priorities and the technical effects of a 0% property-tax increase year on library operations and public-safety funding; staff said total public-safety spending remains the larger general-fund commitment but agreed to clarify presentation details for the next reading.
