Police and fire plan modest staffing increases as fleet strategy shifts from leasing to purchasing

Police Chief Cameron Paul and Fire Chief Aaron Brems outlined public-safety staffing and fleet proposals during the budget work session. Chief Paul said the police request includes additional officers (one passage of the transcript lists three requested FTEs overall while another place references two), increasing allocated full-time positions from 56 to 58. Chief Brems said fire requested nine full-time positions (plus roughly 2.3 FTE part-time) to staff an interim Station 53; he estimated nine new positions would make operations 'workable' but that a fully built-out station typically requires more personnel.

The council also discussed fleet policy: staff propose moving away from vehicle leasing toward outright purchases. Montoya said police are requesting eight vehicles this year (including two additional units tied to new officers) and that the city proposes replacing six leased police vehicles with purchased units as part of a longer-term strategy to reduce reliance on leasing. For fire services, staff earmarked lease-replacement costs and proposed $500,000 to start a replacement program to create an ongoing sustainable replacement cycle. Chief Paul said the city initially benefited from leasing but that current market conditions favor purchasing and phasing out new lease commitments.

Council members asked about benchmarks and coverage: Chief Paul referenced regional staffing benchmarks informed by FBI data, noting that recommended staffing levels could be in the 70s for comparable populations though exact figures were not provided. Council members emphasized phased hiring to reduce annual budget impacts and requested additional benchmarks and operational projections as part of the interim budget.