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Police budget to increase with addition of three new officers
From page 1 raises for the Policemen’s Benevolent Association contract which had expired.
Salary-related expenses account for 95% of the GCPD budget. For the current fiscal year (ending May 31) the department’s headcount is 69 full-time employees and 17 part-time employees.
A $41,000 expense for GCPD uniforms would come close to doubling the expense line item for FY 2023-24 – projected to rise from $55,000 to $96,000.
Two more large costs for the Police Department’s proposed budget are the rising prices of gas and oil, and the IT/ maintenance of software used by the department.
Commissioner Jackson told the Board of Trustees the GCPD gas and oil expenses would need to rise $19,000 or about 18% going to a proposed $126,000 for FY 2023-24.
Radio traffic control, firearms supplies and medical services for the GCPD are part of the department’s expense budgeting not reflected in the commissioner’s March 23 budget presentation.
The department’s telephone expenses are expected to remain steady at $51,000 for FY 2023-2024, as are materials and supplies – keeping to the $31,000 from the 2022-2023 modified budget for the proposed budget. Meanwhile, the “Printing, Postage and Stationery” cost is projected to increase 8% from $24,000 in the 2022-2023 forecast budget to $26,000 for the coming year.
Capital Project expenditures outlined
Existing GCPD capital projects total $168,000 in year-to-date expenses, with $130,000 available for budgeting in FY 2023-24.
While $296,000 was allocated towards police vehicles and equipment, the current YTD amount is $131,000 with $50,000 encumbered – leaving $116,000 available to budget.
Commissioner Jackson outlined a five-year capital project for new police vehicles to enter the fleet. The total out- lay over the five-year capital project for police vehicles would be $1.119 million.
In his comments to the Board, Jackson spoke highly of the mechanics and equipment maintenance staff who service Garden City’s police cars and keep them ready and “on the go.” He said the lifeblood of the police department, and its vital service in the community, is found with its vehicle fleet maintenance and equipment technicians and the police radio dispatch arm of the force.
In three of the next five budget years, the commissioner noted investments for police radio communications of $100,000 – for each of the next three fiscal years.
Refurbishment of the GCPD gun range was presented as a 2023-24 capital project with a cost of $198,000.
An investment of $225,000 in police body cameras is projected for FY 202425.
Revenues projected to rise
Garden City’s Police Department and related Village Court revenues are anticipated to decrease by 7% overall, or by $116,000, from the forecast 2022-2023 budget revenue of $1.769 million, down to $1.653 million. Commission Jackson said the projected 7% decrease is mainly due to a reduction in parking ticket fees that remain outstanding, due to collections of the prior fiscal year’s tickets during the current year.
The commissioner also said that this is impacted by a reduction in Federal Aid, with $18 million in this year’s forecast budget but just $2 million proposed for 2023-24. Meanwhile, Public Safety Grants that the GCPD expects to receive would account for $40,000 in revenues, which would be an increase of 60%.
In this projection, the total revenues would actually rise by 11% over the adopted current fiscal year budget, which was $1.485 million. Jackson said this increase is due to parking fee revenues that are “getting to normalized levels” post-pandemic.