Final Project

Jeff J. Reed

University of San Diego

LEPS-590 Budget and Finance for Law Enforcement Leaders

 Any Town, USA

Proposed Budget for Fiscal Year 2021-2022

Department Mission Statement

The Police Department keeps Any Town safe and tackles crime through quality policing

that secures the trust and support of the people it serves and protects.

Department Overview
Through people, community collaboration, technology, and regional cooperation, the

Police Department fulfills its mission through comprehensive programs that make safety a

priority, focus on effectively working with people, and obtain fair and impartial results through

education, prevention, intervention, suppression, and enforcement efforts. The department

provides a visible presence, effective and timely response to calls for service, innovative

community engagement activities, and comprehensive services for investigations, community-

focused policing initiatives, and emergency preparedness.

Budget Priorities
As the Chief of Police of the Any Town Police Department, I am committed to allocating

the resources appropriately provided to me and meeting the demands of the residents and

community leaders. The Mayor and the City Council have passed down their priorities that I

intend to adhere to and make sure the budget's money is well spent. I will look at writing grants
for equipment not associated with the budget. I will review the operational and capital expenses

and prioritize them to the department's current needs. I will also review and decide to reduce or

eliminate areas susceptible to budget cuts. I will not ignore items that need updating or replaced

altogether. The priority is to keep both the community safe and department members. Identified

by myself and city leaders is the list of priorities that need to be addressed:

Decrease the Overall Crime Rate by 5%

The city has seen an increased amount of crime, especially violent crime. The violent

crimes that have seen the most impact have been gang shootings, armed robberies, and

burglaries. Therefore, the department will allocate resources appropriately to address this

horrific trend.

Improve Community Trust

The city has experienced numerous inquiries regarding our use of force situations. This

department strives to be transparent with every use of force scenario that occurs. I am

committed and will continue to give every officer the training and tools needed to de-

escalate the situation to prevent loss of life.

Educating the Youth of the Community

This department and community leaders value educating the youth regarding gang

prevention and gang recruitment. Therefore, the Youth Services Division will focus their

education in the community's schools and with town hall meetings.

Increased Response Time

The community has concerns that response times have resulted in additional

victimization due to officers arriving later than expected. Therefore, I will concentrate on
 staffing levels to assure the community that this department will not fall below our

minimum staffing levels on patrol. Keeping staffing levels at the minimum will increase

response times and maintain the community's safety. Improving our current fleet will

also assist with increased response times.

Improve our Community Policing Methods and Intelligence-Led Policing

As the Chief, I understand implementing community policing methods and using

intelligence-led policing to solve crimes. I am committed to establishing strong

community relationships, and this department will focus on solving crime by educating

officers on how to use intelligence-based policing to their advantage.

Staffing

Staffing will be the biggest challenge this fiscal year due to planned and unplanned

shortages. I am committed to adding twenty additional officers to the roster to keep

staffing levels at our minimum or above minimum staffing if we are fortunate. It takes

approximately two years to hire, background, and train a new officer, so we are already

behind after retirements. The need to continuously recruit and hire is at its utmost

importance for the safety of this community to achieve this agency's mission.

Budget Technique
The best method to use when determining the type of budget technique to utilize this

fiscal year is to look at the past successes and failures. Last year’s budget was successful due to

using the line item technique. By using line-item budgeting, Any Town Police Department will

be able to show how we allocate our resources. Presentation 5.1 states, “The Line Item Budget

identifies a particular program and identifies the budget expenditure needed while itemizing the
program attaching a budgetary number to each line.” Using line-item budgeting will show a clear

picture moving forward.

Current Budget Breakdown

• The allocated budget for this fiscal year is $10,500,000

• $7,510,000 of the $10,500,000 is allocated for personnel costs

• $2,990,000 will be allocated towards all other budget line items

The following charts will illustrate our current personnel breakdown and percentage of the entire

budget followed by specific costs within the entire budget:

Police Chief (1) Sworn Staff Captain (1)

2% 1%
Lieutenants (2)
3%
Police Officers (48)
50%
Sergeants (14)
Detectives (10)
19%
11%

Police Chief (1) Captain (1) Lieutenants (2) Sergeants (14) Detectives (10) Police Officers (48)

Admin Clerk (4)

Civilian Staff
3%
Property Room Clerk
Less Than 1%
Dispatchers (10)
Crime Analyst 8%
Less Than 1%
Auto Mechanics (3)
3%

Dispatchers (10) Auto Mechanics (3) Crime Analyst Property Room Clerk Admin Clerk
The following is a cost breakdown of each position show above:
Position Cost

Police Chief (1) $175,000

Police Captain (1) $150,000

Police Lieutenants (2) $250,000 ($125,000 x 2)

Police Sergeants (14) $1,400,000 ($100,000 x 14)

Detectives (10) $800,000 ($80,000 x 10)

Police Officers (48) $3,600,000 ($75,000 x 48)

Dispatchers (10) $600,000 ($60,000 x 10)

Auto Mechanics (3) $210,000 ($70,000 x 3)

Crime Analyst $75,000

Property Room Clerk $50,000

Admin Clerks (4) $200,000 ($50,000 x 4)

Total Personnel Costs $7,510,000

 Capital Costs ($1,080,000)

The following capital costs listed will meet my goals as Chief and will meet the Mayors

priorities as well. All the line items will have fixed costs and paid in full during this fiscal year.

New Fleet ($266,000)

The department currently has sixteen vehicles in our fleet, with seven not in good

working condition and will need to be replaced. In addition, officers rarely drive those

seven vehicles, which causes higher millage to occur on the vehicles that do work.

Having a fully functioning fleet will also assist with increasing our response time.

Smart Lights ($500,000)

This technology comes with recording and ShotSpotter capabilities.

This equipment need would assist with reducing violent crimes, specifically gang

shootings, armed robberies, and burglaries.

Crime Mapping ($300,000)

This technology will aid officers and crime analysts with intelligence-led policing. For

example, officers will be able to proactively patrol the high crime areas or predict when

or where the next violent crime might be occurring.

40mm Launcher/Ammo ($14,000)

To reduce unnecessary use of force or officer-involved shootings, the department will

purchase thirty-five 40mm Launchers as a de-escalation tool to prevent the loss of

life.
 Operational Costs - Non-Negotiable ($1,879,000)

Vest Replacement $76,000

Uniform Allowance $228,000

Recruiting/New Hires (20 New Officers) $1,500,000

Safety Equipment $20,000

Ammunition $50,000

Office Supplies $5,000

Total $1,879,000

Training ($30,000)

We spent $30,000 on department training during the last fiscal year and will continue to

spend the same this fiscal year. There will be some leftover grant money that will also go

towards training. I will approve training that fits the organization's current needs and the City

Leader's priorities. The training will consist of sensitivity training, force options training,

leadership training, intelligence-led police training, community policing theory classes,

investigation development classes, and gang identification training. The Best Practices Guide for

Budgeting in Small Police Agencies reminds agencies, “A rule of thumb, the department gets ten

dollars returned for every dollar invested in training. It is one of the most important activities an

agency can do to develop staff to meet the future challenges of the community”.
 Grant Money ($95,200 / $100,000)

Body Worn Cameras ($76,000)

Body-worn cameras have proven to protect police officers and citizens against false

accusations, claims of misconduct, or abuse. To continue my commitment and gain trust in our

community, and confidence from city leaders, I will be utilizing a federal grant that emphasizes

on providing citizens with greater insight into the decisions made by our department members.

Body-worn cameras also increase the transparency and accountability of officers. To increase

community transparency with use of force and daily interactions with the public, each officer

will wear a body-worn camera.

Actual Cost Breakdown

Personnel $7,510,000

Operational Costs $1,879,000

New Items $1,080,000

Training $30,000

Total Fiscal Year Budget $10,500,000

-
Actual Money Spent $10,499,000
___________
Outcome = $1,000 Under Budget
 *Grant Usage *$100,000

Budget Summary

This department needs sufficient funding and resources to achieve the goals and priorities

you have expressed. This budget is a well-thought-out budget for the 2021-2022 fiscal year and

fulfills those goals and the objectives set by City Leaders and the community. I also explored

alternative funding sources, such as obtaining a grant. Chief Orrick supports this by stating,

"Departments that make use of funds such as grants and asset forfeiture funds, are more likely to

receive authorization for the expenditures."

Chief King stated, "So, keys to success are make sure you have ongoing budget meetings.

Make sure where you are be prepared to take swift action as needed. And then so having solid

relationships for me dealing with regulatory agencies, having those solid relationships

established that we can go to and ask for help". We had a successful meeting together, and both

agreed on what priorities need to be addressed. Overall, I believe the budget is reasonable and

aligned with the community's needs and addresses the pertinent issues during these

unprecedented times. On behalf of myself and the Any Town Police Department, I would like to

thank you for your support in this matter.

 References

LEPS 590 - Final Project Budget Considerations

LEPS 590 Presentation 5.1

Chief W. Dwayne Orrick - The Best Practices Guide for Budgeting in Small Police Agencies

McCarthy, K (2021). Fiscal Year 2021-22 Proposed Budget for the City of Mountain View

LEPS 590 Module 4 Presentation: Budgetary Leadership in Action (Chief King / Chief Nayor)