John Piper, deputy city manager for public health and safety, told the Winchester City Public Health and Safety Committee that staff was presenting options for allocating revenue from the recently adopted 79.5¢ tax rate and seeking direction on public-safety priorities.

The committee heard two principal requests: the Commonwealth Attorney asked the city to restore a third full-time victim-witness advocate position that had been reduced to part time after a grant cut; the sheriff renewed a request for two deputy positions to staff courthouse entrances and outlined a four-vehicle replacement plan for his fleet.

“The city supplemented that part time position after the grant was reduced,” the Commonwealth Attorney said, describing a staffing shift that left the office with “2 victim witness advocates [who] are exceptional” and a third position that would be part time without additional city funding. She said the office currently supports victims in General District Court for crimes ranging from burglaries and robberies to assaults, helps calculate restitution and provides emotional support and lay explanation of legal proceedings. She warned that a 20-hour-per-week position “would probably be working 3 days” and might not be available on days when attorneys need an advocate present.

The Commonwealth Attorney estimated the general fund impact of moving the position from part time to full time at approximately $29,000.

The sheriff described day-to-day courthouse security needs and repeated a prior request for two additional full-time deputies, saying one deputy at each courthouse door currently must “monitor 600 to 800 people a day” and that national and state guidelines recommend two or more staff at each screening point. “Part time is just what it says. Part time is not guaranteed. A full time position means 5 days a week somebody's gonna be there,” the sheriff said, adding that deputies assigned to doors also perform wanding and monitor metal-detector screens.

On vehicles, the sheriff said four vehicles in his fleet need replacement and highlighted two especially old units: “the first one is a 17 year old vehicle… and another one that's 15.” He and staff discussed a replacement plan that would replace one vehicle per year or more quickly if funding allows. City staff told the committee that with the additional revenue at the 79.5¢ rate they believed they could fund two sheriff vehicles this fiscal year using General Fund revenue rather than dipping into fund balance; outfitting a replacement vehicle could run “upwards of $60,000 depending on the vehicle and the specs,” staff said.

Piper summarized staff priorities for the new revenue as the system network administrator position (approximate cost cited at $86,500), four firefighter positions in line with the staffing plan, and the Commonwealth Attorney’s full-time victim-witness position (approx. $29,000). He said staff thought they could accommodate one-half of the police department vehicle request and half of the sheriff’s vehicle request this year and would revisit the plan as the FY27 budget develops. “We would need council to tell staff what they want to cut in order to make” funding for additional vehicles happen, he said.

Committee members and staff also discussed part-time budget lines and recent one-time adjustments. Staff noted a part-time line for courthouse coverage that had been increased during recent budget moves to about $35,500 to allow more part-time coverage in the near term, though both staff and the sheriff emphasized that part-time hours do not fully substitute for full-time positions.

No formal committee motion or vote was taken during the discussion; staff said the matter would come forward to the full City Council for final direction and possible budget adoption.

The committee closed the public discussion by noting that operational impacts — including the planned January 1 change to courthouse door operations referenced by a council member — will continue to inform staffing needs and that staff would return with final budget language for Council consideration.