The need for more officers was cited as a concern when the Jamestown Police Department presented its budget to the City Council on Monday.
Police Chief Timothy Jackson laid out some of the big concerns looking ahead to the 2025 budget, starting with fuel issues. The department said it expects to spend $80,000 on fuel this year.
“That’s why we asked for $96,000 for next year, 2025,” Jackson said. “We were offered $60,000. So once we’re given $60,000, we’re going to subsidize it over time to meet it. But unless fuel prices go down next year, I don’t think that’s going to happen because we’re expected to spend $80,000 this year.”
Since buyout funds were requested this year but not received, Jackson said the department will again resort to asset forfeiture to fund buyout operations for drug investigations. He added that last year was the first year in several years that the department received acquisition funds, so the plan is to revert to asset forfeiture funds like those used in the past.
“The problem is you never know how much you’re going to get,” Jackson said. “We’ve received $5,873 so far this year. We spend about $1,200 a month, so there’s no way to estimate how much we’ll make.”
The council asked if funds from drug cases could be used, and Jackson said they could, but the funds would be divided among the departments that handled the cases. City Councilman Russell Bonfiglio (R-At-Large) asked about vehicle possession from drug cases and how those vehicles were sold.
Everything is put together and split between the people working the cases, Jackson said, adding that vehicle possession usually stems from larger cases, but not as much in this area. Jackson said local cases where police seize a vehicle are extremely rare and are common in federal cases. Funds from these lawsuits are subject to very strict guidelines and cannot be used for anything. Another problem arises: in some cases, cases in federal court can take years to develop.
Other discussions with Congress included equipment and repairs, security for Congress, the introduction of two new vehicles, and severance buyouts for two officers who may retire. Following this, the discussion turned to what the department’s biggest issue is at the moment, and Jackson said it is staffing and hiring and retaining new officers.
City Councilman Brent Sheldon (R-District) said he believes the academy currently has about 15 new students. Councilman Jeff Russell (R) pointed out that these recruits are for the entire county, not just the police department.
Jackson said the department currently has 58 officers, compared to the usual 62.
“So my question is, if you find someone who wants a job and wants to work, can they get back to 60 or 62 with the budget they have now?” Russell asked.
“Yes, we can take that into account in the budget. We are currently negotiating for rank-and-file employees,” Jackson said.