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Kenyon police chief urges work with county to curb overtime and reviews equipment costs
Summary
The police chief told council that overtime and rising salary costs are the largest budget pressures; he suggested a noncontract arrangement with the county sheriff’s office for late-night or emergency response to reduce overtime and asked staff to reconcile delayed state payments and contract-service charges.
Kenyon — The police chief outlined staffing pressures and recommended working with the county sheriff’s office to reduce overtime while officials reconcile vehicle and contract-service accounting.
In the budget workshop the chief said the department's salary line decreased this year because a long‑tenured officer left, but he warned that overall law-enforcement wages and overtime have risen and are the largest drivers of next year’s budget. He described exploring an informal arrangement with the county sheriff’s office so the sheriff’s deputies could handle some emergency calls or take on non‑emergency calls until an officer is available, which could reduce overtime payouts.
"My guys are on call quite a bit and it's hard on them physically and mentally," the police chief said, arguing that tailored county coverage at night could reduce costly call‑outs.
The chief also flagged one-off expense drivers: hail-related repairs to department property, a furnace/AC replacement in the building, and an accounting timing issue tied to a 2023 vehicle purchase that may require staff review of revenue timing and capital coding. He asked staff to audit contract services GLs and to check warranty and body-camera replacement schedules to ensure accurate projections.
Next steps: staff agreed to dig into GL detail on contract services, verify insurance and state payment timing, and reconcile capital versus general fund accounting for squad purchases. The council did not take a formal vote but directed staff to return with a cleaner line‑item reconciliation and options to reduce projected overtime costs.
