Police lieutenant tells budget panel overtime, training and camera licensing will push operating costs higher

Lieutenant Brown, the police budget presenter, told the Lambertville budget committee the department is funded for 11 sworn positions and proposed a 2025 salary-and-wage plan tied to contract steps and longevity. He said contractual educational incentives and corporal pay are reflected in specific line items and that the department's total sworn-officer salary package is about $1,039,888.07.

Why it matters: Brown warned that several personnel and contractual factors are increasing recurring operating costs. He said officers' comp-time accruals have reached limits, several officers were on extended medical leave this year and recruitment remains difficult, all of which are driving higher overtime. "We're going to be 14,000 over in overtime," Brown said, adding he did not expect overtime to return to prior levels next year without changes to staffing or contract language.

Brown explained comp-time choices in the union contract mean some years show lower cash payouts while comp liabilities grow. "Now officers are maxed out with our comp time... so now anytime they work overtime, they're going to be getting paid," he said, noting the city cannot unilaterally change that practice without negotiating contract modifications.

On recruitment and training, Brown said the department follows a diversity-plan hiring process and uses a national applicant service the state accepts; that service recently changed applicant fees, and the department expects higher posting and advertising costs. He also outlined new PTC licensing and training demands that will add recurring education and medical/psych evaluation costs for new hires and annual training (defensive tactics, firearms and other certifications).

The presentation included equipment and capital items the department recommends for replacement on a staggered schedule: vehicle maintenance and preventive repairs (requesting $24,000 for motor-vehicle repairs), continuing upgrades to in-car mobile data terminals and a multi-year approach to replacing cameras and related servers. Brown said vendors are moving to cloud-hosted NVR and body-camera systems and offered a five-year cloud licensing and support option priced at roughly $60,082 for the system with annual or lump-sum payment options.

Committee members pressed Brown on academy timing and hiring cadence; he said academy class availability and certification timelines (including possible waivers to shorten academy time) make immediate backfilling uncertain. He also confirmed that the department will present detailed officer-by-officer incentive breakdowns in the working spreadsheet.

The committee did not take any formal action during the presentation; members requested follow-up materials and asked that certain capital-versus-operating classifications be clarified before finalizing the 2025 recommendations.