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Police propose using $118,242 public-safety funds to add officer for violent-crime reduction
Summary
Chief Ben Summer and Deputy Chief Larry Van Allstine told the commission the city’s $118,242 public-safety allocation could support roughly one officer (annual cost ≈ $90,000) and outlined a data-driven hotspot patrol strategy; staff framed this as an informational briefing, not a request for immediate direction.
Chief Ben Summer introduced Deputy Chief Larry Van Allstine to brief the commission on how the city plans to use a $118,242 public-safety revenue-sharing allocation to address violent crime.
Deputy Chief Van Allstine described an evidence-based deployment strategy rooted in analysis of crime trends, calls-for-service, staffing patterns and hotspot identification. He said the law requires that 75% of the public-safety allocation be used to support law-enforcement agencies or officers and noted that “the annual cost of one police officer is about $90,000 all in.” He recommended using the allocation to expand patrol capacity to target violent offenders and improve investigative follow-up.
Commissioners asked practical questions about body and dash cameras (Van Allstine: body cameras are in use; vehicle cameras are on hand awaiting installation), recruitment timelines (department is currently short three officers; one new hire starts July 27 and another candidate is slated for the October academy), and whether the briefing sought a policy decision (Van Allstine: informational update only).
Commissioners and staff discussed alternative approaches, including proposals to hire a position with social-work or community-response competencies instead of—or alongside—a traditional sworn officer. The chief and deputy emphasized that future staffing decisions remain the commission’s purview.
What’s next: the department will continue monthly reporting on metrics and return to the commission if it requests formal action to fund and hire an additional officer from the allocation.
