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Council approves staff recommendation to hire certified officer to fill vacancy
Summary
After reviewing recruitment results and DOJ staffing guidance, council supported hiring one certified officer now to replace a vacancy and discussed budgeting for additional positions as population grows.
Council members reviewed a personnel and finance committee update on police recruiting and supported hiring one certified officer immediately to replace a December vacancy and maintain coverage.
Village staff said the department interviewed a strong candidate pool and proposed bringing on one certified officer now so the recruit could be on patrol within six to eight weeks after background checks and ride-alongs. "We are proposing to hire 1 officer now under the current pool of candidates to replace the vacancy," Village Administrator Walton said. Staff noted another candidate in training would likely be available by December and that the city had allocated a 13th position in the current budget.
Council members discussed long-term staffing ratios tied to population growth and referenced the Department of Justice standard of two officers per 1,000 residents. Staff estimated approximately 2,300 housing units and an estimated 6,200 residents; council concluded hiring now would help the department keep pace with growth and maintain public-safety coverage.
Council did not take formal long-range staffing votes at the meeting but indicated support for the personnel committee's recommendations and requested budget and timing details for future additions.
