Seymour PD Reviews Budget With Board Of Finance

SEYMOUR — Police Chief Paul Satkowski is asking the town’s Board of Finance for an additional $266,000 in funding for the 2021 – 2022 fiscal year.

The chief on Feb. 1 presented his department’s $4.6 million budget request to the board. The $266,000 increase amounts to a roughly 5 percent budget-to-budget increase.

About $3 million of the budget is to cover the salaries of 41 officers, who are receiving a 2.5 percent pay increase.

There is also $129,685 for the police chief’s salary; $161,862 for two school resource officers; $175,000 in overtime costs (an increase of $25,000 to cover officers being out due to the COVID-19 pandemic) and $249,940 for training and related expenses.

Under the proposed $4.6 million bottom line, Satkowski added $7,000 to cover mandatory drug screenings and behavior health assessments for police officers, which are also required under the new police accountability bill.

It’s more crucial than ever before that the men and women of our department have the needed tools and training to do their jobs in a sufficient and safe manner, especially given everything that’s happened over the past year, and to ensure public safety is not compromised,” Satkowski said.

The Seymour Police Department budget presented to the finance board does not include an estimated $150,000-$200,000 for body and dash cams, required under the new accountability bill.

Satkowski is requesting that funding come through the town’s five-year capital improvement plan. 

Satkowski said the town needs to purchase 14 dash cams and 45 body cams. If it’s paid for upfront before the end of this July, the town can recoup 30 percent of the costs from the state. 

The new police accountability bill, passed by the state last July and prompted by the nationwide protests over the police killings of several Black Americans, including George Floyd and Breonna Taylor, requires all police officers to wear body cameras and have dashboard cameras in their vehicles by July 1, 2022.

The accountability bill authorized $4 million in grants to help municipalities mitigate costs of the new equipment.

Also included in Satkowski’s capital improvement requests is $15,000 for security fencing for the perimeter of the police department on Franklin Street; $10,000 for bulletproof vests; $40,000 for a legal consultant; $10,000 for tile and carpet replacement and $15,000 for signs and roadway markings.

The town annually budgets $300,000 in its capital plan to fund bigger ticket items like fire trucks, and equipment upgrades. Some items can be paid in cash in one year, while other things are spread out over several years time. First Selectwoman Annmarie Drugonis said items can also be bonded or paid for through grants.

The finance board is meeting with all town department heads in virtual workshops throughout February to discuss their individual budget requests. First Selectwoman Annmarie Drugonis is expected to present her overall town budget on March 1. 

Keep local reporting alive. Donate.ValleyIndy.org