Joint committee reviews Park Police FY27 budget, recommends restoring CAD upgrade and laptops

Chair Sidney Katz convened the Joint Committee work session of the Planning, Housing and Parks Committee and the Public Safety Committee on April 23 to review the FY27 operating budget and FY27–32 capital improvement program for the Maryland Capital Park and Planning Commission Park Police.

Susan J. Farag, budget and policy analyst, framed the discussion as a review of a small subset of the recommended FY27 operating budget and noted that items requiring restoration must be placed on the County’s Reconciliation List. She said the Park Police complement reflects about 117.6 work years (127 positions, 98 sworn) with eight vacancies and that the Park Police support roughly 14 million park visits annually. Farag outlined several proposed budget changes and their status as tier 1 or tier 2 nonrecommended reductions.

Farag described specific change items: a $1,000 price adjustment she did not recommend restoring; a $1,000 increase for camera maintenance (body‑worn and in‑car video systems) identified as a tier 1 nonrecommended reduction despite maintenance being operationally necessary; a $30,000 overtime increase (bringing projected FY27 overtime to $894,000 compared with $648,000 in FY26 through March 31); a proposal to replace ruggedized officer laptops on a five‑year cycle (roughly $5,000 per laptop, with a plan to replace about 20 per year; this year’s request would total about $64,000 versus last year’s approved $35,000); a $10,000 contract increase for proficiency testing services; and a $212,000 CAD (computer aided dispatch) funding request split between $80,000 for the current CAD upgrade (recommended by Council staff for restoration) and $132,000 that Park staff indicates is no longer required for purchasing a different CAD system.

On the recommended restorations, Farag said, “I’m recommending my priorities in terms of operations would be to restore 80 thousand dollars for the computer aided dispatch and $35,000 for the laptops.”

Committee members followed with questions about staffing and overtime. Councilmember Will Jawando asked whether Park Police were having hiring problems and whether the overtime request was tied to staffing shortfalls. Chief Lakeisha Robinson responded, “we don't have any issues with folks being interested in Park Police,” explaining that current vacancies are due to lapse and that candidates are in process for hiring. Kate Bentley, budget manager, said, “30,000 increase is to keep up with overtime…we have five vacant officer positions right now,” linking the overtime request to coverage needs while vacancies persist.

Farag and staff emphasized the dispatch system’s operational importance and recommended restoring the $80,000 CAD upgrade on the Reconciliation List while leaving the $132,000 related to a different CAD purchase off the list as no longer needed. The committee signaled agreement to restore camera maintenance and to place the $80,000 CAD item and $35,000 for laptops on the Reconciliation List.

The session closed after the committee confirmed those reconciliation priorities and the chair adjourned the meeting. No formal motions or votes on budget restorations were recorded in the work session transcript.