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Police chief seeks 24 officers and more support staff under 10-year Project 35 plan
Summary
Chief Anthony Sizemore outlined Project 35, a 10-year police staffing and infrastructure plan aiming to return department staffing to regional benchmarks; he asked for near-term hires (24 officers) plus supervisory and professional staff to reduce structural overtime and backlogs in forensics and records.
Chief Anthony Sizemore presented Project 35, a 10-year plan that defines what the Cape Coral Police Department would look like in 2035 and reverses-engineers annual hiring targets to reach that endpoint. "Every thousand new residents generates approximately 850 calls for service annually," Sizemore said, explaining growth-driven workload increases.
Sizemore said the department would need about 198 officers on the street by the benchmarking method used; the department is currently roughly 57 officers short of that street-strength target. The chief requested a near-term increase of 24 officers (a slight reduction from a prior 25-per-year ask), plus additional professional staff (grant writer, forensic supervisor, FOIA/records personnel, payroll/financial support) and supervisory ranks to maintain span-of-control standards.
He argued that targeted staffing reduces structural overtime (patrol overtime alone totals about $1.8 million) and backlogs that are affecting response times and records turnaround (digital evidence turnaround had grown toward five weeks). The chief also described the loss of planned precinct capital funding due to last budget-cycle adjustments and said precincts or storefronts remain a future option if capital funding returns.
Council members requested a status update showing Project 35 asks versus what was actually funded in the first two years, plus the annual hiring cadence and a plan to phase onboarding so the department can maintain quality control. Chief Sizemore agreed to provide the published Project 35 materials and a progress summary.
Next steps: Police will deliver the Project 35 published plan, year-by-year asks and results to date, and more detailed cost and onboarding timing so council can judge the fiscal and operational trade-offs during upcoming budget decisions.
