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Police chief warns staffing, overtime and generator deferral create budget risks
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Summary
At a Norwich budget hearing, the police chief described vacancies, a reduced overtime allocation, and a temporary plan to reprogram fire-department funding for a police-station generator pending a referendum; councilors pressed on retention, SROs and capital needs.
The Norwich police chief told the City Council that the department is managing significant staffing shortfalls, constrained overtime funding and a temporary generator funding plan that could carry fiscal risk if the existing unit fails.
At the departmental budget hearing, Mayor (S1) opened the discussion of the police budget, which is on page 71 of the city's budget document. The chief (S3) said the department is currently filled with 70 officers against an authorized strength of 85 and that the city asked for funding for seven replacement patrol vehicles but was approved for five.
The chief cautioned that the city is delaying a full replacement of the police-station generator pending a referendum and that the city has reprogrammed some fire‑department money to fund a temporary fix. "If the generator fails catastrophically, we'll still have some money for emergency repairs. But if we have to completely replace it, we will be short," the chief said, characterizing the decision as a hedge until the referendum outcome is known.
On personnel costs, the chief said the department requested $700,000 for overtime this year but received $250,000. He warned the council that if the city hires a significant number of non‑certified officers who must attend the police academy, the city could face double-pay overlaps that would strain the budget. "If we hire a large number of non‑certified officers, we could end up in a deficit situation for the year or having to reduce services," he said.
Council members asked for specifics about near‑term headcount. One councilor (S8) noted the budgeted projection of 81.5 uniformed positions but the current filled total of 70; the chief said an academy class in June and active recruiting could add a few officers but retention remains a concern, estimating as many as 10–11 officers could be considering other career options.
The chief also highlighted a restored civilian dispatch supervisor position late in the fiscal year to support the recently rolled‑out CAD/RMS system and to focus on training. "We're getting more and more into highly technical operations and dispatch that we can't expect police supervisors to oversee," he said, arguing the position will improve efficiency.
Other capital matters included plans to keep transferable IT and radio systems for any future station and a small capital request to add female lockers after councilors raised concerns that 13 female officers currently contend with only 10 lockers.
Councilors pressed on budget accounting and whether vacancy savings and overtime transfers would cause an overrun by June 30. City staff (S5) and the chief said vacancy savings and position offsets should make the current fiscal year a "wash," though the chief said next fiscal year could present a larger challenge if hiring and retention trends continue.
The hearing moved on after the chief’s presentation; the council did not take any formal vote on the police budget at the session.
