Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Public Safety topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Peekskill police chief asks for more officers, vehicles and locker-room renovation in 2026 budget
Summary
Police Chief Leo Dilewski requested a 2026 police budget of $11,783,000, sought to fully staff the department (target ~62–63 sworn officers), requested four replacement vehicles and continued locker-room renovations, and presented rising calls-for-service and enforcement numbers.
Police Chief Leo Dilewski presented the department’s 2026 budget request and staffing goals, telling the council he would like to return the uniformed ranks to 62–63 sworn officers and fill a detective position. The chief asked for four replacement vehicles (two marked, two unmarked) and continued capital funding to complete a locker-room renovation; he said the department is pursuing federal and state grants to offset capital costs.
Dilewski provided multi-year operational data: calls for service rose from about 37,527 in 2022 to 41,162 in 2024, and reported case filings rose from 11,718 in 2022 to 12,643 in 2024. Year-to-date case counts were roughly 9,000; arrests had increased to about 1,447 compared with 1,203 at the same point last year. He attributed some increases in arrests to expanded quality-of-life enforcement downtown — citing littering, open containers, public urination, graffiti and parking enforcement — and said parking-ticket activity rose from 16,481 in 2023 to 21,594 in 2024.
Council members praised downtown walking-post patrols and asked for a more granular crime breakdown; a councilor requested semiannual statistics to present to the public. The chief said he would provide the requested breakdown and noted that greater staffing would reduce overtime and better address quality-of-life issues.
