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Public safety leaders defend staffing and technology costs as council questions Project Seed, Axon contract and transfers
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Summary
New Castle County public-safety leaders told council their FY27 requests protect critical services and morale, citing staffing improvements and specialized units while council members pressed for accountability on Project Seed, the Axon contract and the transfer of the Community Intervention Team to Public Safety.
New Castle County’s public-safety leadership defended increases in the department’s recommended FY27 budget during a lengthy council hearing, stressing that cuts to core services would carry hidden liability and long-term cost consequences.
“Elmer Sating, director of public safety, told council this is a county in which ‘people move here for these taxes because we’re still a bargain’ but warned that running public safety down risks morale and liability. “I openly admit to you that we’re using 69¢ of every tax dollar,” he said, and urged council not to “put a fire sale out on public safety.”
Sating and other leaders described operational changes and transfers that are part of the recommended budget package. Finance officer Carla presented details of the administration division and said the Community Intervention Team (CIT) is moving to Public Safety with a $160,000 transfer from Community Services, of which roughly $155,000 will pay three contractors and $5,000 cover supplies.
Police Chief Jamie Leonard detailed a departmental reorganization implemented in 2025 and highlighted enforcement results from newly mission-specific teams. He said the department currently has 11 vacancies with seven offers extended and defended budget increases tied to staffing, overtime alignment and technology. “The $2,237,000 for our Axon contract increase actually came from the register of wills’ technology fund,” Leonard told council, and outlined plans for a police foundation to offset equipment and specialty-unit costs.
Council members pressed officials on specific programs and contracts. Several council members questioned Project Seed — a community outreach program now placed under Public Safety — with Councilman Street saying, “Project Seed all by itself destroyed Rosegate Park,” and calling for accountability and evidence of outcomes. Public Safety Director Sating and others defended Project Seed’s outreach work and said the office would supply an annual report and documentation of activities.
There was also discussion of animal-control contracting costs (about $2.2 million currently) and concerns about electric-rate increases tied to large new loads, with council members asking staff to track per-call costs and usage to determine value.
Other public-safety divisions presented in the hearing: Crossing Guards supervisor Colleen Gilliland reported the unit is covering all posts (107 guards, including 10 substitutes) and requested a FY27 budget of $2,966,268; EMS Chief Mark Logeman highlighted strong county cardiac-arrest survival rates, plans for paramedic academies and a recommended EMS budget of $28,807,372; emergency communications chief Don Holden said telecommunicators answer 92.18% of calls within 10 seconds and that vacancies have fallen to five; and emergency management coordinator Chris Hodgdon warned of delayed federal EMPG funding and described the decision to transition grant-funded positions to county funding to protect capabilities.
Council did not take a substantive final vote on the department budgets during this session; officials were asked to provide additional documentation on Project Seed outcomes, detailed usage/costs for the Axon and animal-control contracts, and follow-up data on electric-cost projections. The hearing adjourned after brief online public comment supporting police staffing and community-policing investments.
