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Howard County police seek 9% budget increase as council presses on overtime, hiring and range upgrades
Summary
Police Chief Gregory Derr told the council the FY25 request aims to preserve service levels and cited personnel and chargebacks as primary drivers of a roughly 9% increase; council members pressed for details on overtime, lateral recruiting, starting pay and one‑time items like firing‑range repairs and MDC replacements.
Chief Gregory Derr told the Howard County Council at the FY25 operating budget work session that the police department’s proposed request is designed to “maintain our high current level of service for residents of Howard County.” The presentation described a roughly 9% increase over FY24 driven mainly by personnel costs and internal chargebacks.
The department introduced its senior command and budget team, and detailed several contributors to rising costs: health insurance and workers’ compensation increases, vehicle capital charges, data processing chargebacks, and a planned $1.1 million purchase for Axon services tied to body‑worn camera storage. “Personnel costs are amongst the most significant expense and make up 7.5 of the total 9% increase,”…
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