By Kyle Dante

The City Council intends to cut $400,000 from the Somerville Police Department (SPD) budget proposal for the 2023 fiscal year. $200,000 of that cut will be used for unarmed emergency personnel. The remaining $200,000 will go for other city demands, including housing and mental health needs, among others.

For 2023, SPD proposed a budget of $18,069,335 across three areas: personal services, ordinary maintenance, and special services.

Personal Services- $17,389,502 (an increase from the 2022 $16.2m budget)

The overarching goal of SPD in its services is safety and paying its employees. Their proposed budget will allow a staffing of eighty-eight patrol officers.

$277k of the money will go to body-cameras. With increasing issues worldwide regarding the police, the investment is valid. The remaining million is split across two other aspects: contracted salaries ($801k, with $173k in overtime) and developmental education courses ($108.5k).

Ordinary Maintenance- $628,000 (increase from the $453.3k 2022 budget)

The maintenance is divided into four aspects: body cameras ($127.8k), public safety supplies ($36k), website redesigns ($9.5k), and other matters ($1.4k).

Special Services- $51,600

The plan needs review and negotiation between the City Council, mayor, and SPD. For one, the use of body cameras remain a point of discussion. An oversight board, in conjunction with it, is necessary. It stems from privacy concerns, with many remaining uncomfortable with their usage. Civilian oversight is a key issue as well, concerning who owns the footage for data storage and review.

Another issue involving the budget proposal is why there are increases in costs. One example mentioned was weapons training education. It is a mandated service for firearms training, including ammunition. However, the cost of this rose since the Covid-19 pandemic, as well as resource access. In turn, resulting in an increase of cost with the mandates. It also will require clarification on how much money is reimbursed concerning work hours, especially training overtime.

Along with a staffing issue across the departments, it is problematic. SPD is trying to “fill a gap in the current climate,” looking to support decisions for grants and possible city support. In the case of hiring social workers, for example, it is between $70,000 minimum to about $85,000 with demands and level positions.

Based on the proposal, there is work to be done. Even without factoring Covid-19, change is coming. As changes are being made, both for removals and updates, two more meetings will be held this week. The meeting involving cuts will be tonight, June 22, and a final decision the following day on Thursday, June 23. Both finance meetings are open to the public, and will start at 6:00 p.m.

To see more of what the proposed SPD budget entails, in addition to this week’s meetings, go to somervillema.gov.