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Police and fire outline equipment, staffing and capital asks in FY27 budget workshop
Summary
Police and fire chiefs described falling crime trends and operational pressures, then requested equipment and staffing investments—police asked for narcotics identification gear, training simulators and conversion of three grant-funded positions; fire requested an aerial and engine, a fire inspector, turnout-gear replacement and drone program funding.
Police and fire leaders briefed the council on public-safety operations and outlined a slate of FY27 enhancements and capital needs.
Police Chief described 2025 trends and operational changes that contributed to increased investigative results after consolidating headquarters. The chief said property and violent crime are “both down for 2025” and pointed to improved real-time assist and co-location of units as drivers of higher investigative leads. He asked for targeted enhancements including a $50,000 TrueNarc narcotics-identification device, replacement ballistic protection after a late‑year shooting, ammunition and gear replacements, driving simulators (with foundation support for one unit), and converting three currently grant-funded civilian roles to permanent city-funded positions.
The chief also warned of staffing impacts due to reserve and National Guard activations: “We are down 5 positions right now with National Guard and the other reserve activations.” He and council members discussed jail-housing costs after a nearby city closed its jail, and staff said they built the expense into the budget at the current level while seeking housing alternatives.
Fire Chief Sanders reported that fire and EMS responded to 22,565 calls in 2025 and highlighted AED expansions and a community care program that reduced nonemergency apparatus responses. He asked the council to fund a replacement aerial ladder truck and an engine (with multi-year lease payments and deliveries expected in later years), add a fire inspector to manage inspection demand from new development, continue turnout-gear replacement and to adjust a bonus structure affecting firefighters. He described the drone program as a “game changer,” saying drones now deploy from Station 2 and get on scene in less than a minute to provide situational awareness.
Council members probed cost comparisons, program sustainability and impacts on operating budgets. Staff said specific line-item amounts and comparative figures will be provided at the next workshop and in the city manager's proposed budget.
No formal votes or policy changes were adopted during the presentation; the items were submitted for consideration in the FY27 recommended budget.
