Public Safety department outlines $774 million general-fund plan, attributes many line-item shifts to coding changes
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Summary
Fiscal director Tricia Wenzel presented the Department of Public Safety's 2025 plan (division figures for police, fire and support services) and told council 91.2% of the proposed budget funds personnel; she said large increases or decreases in some line items largely reflected re-coding of existing staff and contracts rather than new spending cuts or additions.
Tricia Wenzel, fiscal director for the Department of Public Safety, presented the department's proposed 2025 general fund budget and answered detailed questions from council about staffing, community programs and training lines.
Wenzel described division-level figures for 2025 and said the department is planning recruit classes and cadet programs: "Our proposed 2025 general fund budget is broken down into 4 division budgets," she said, listing the division of police and division of fire among others, and added that "91.2 percent of the proposed budget goes toward funding our most important resource, our people." She told council the department budgets for recruit classes and lateral transfers and estimates separations when calculating sworn personnel needs.
Council member Melissa Green pressed the department on several large line-item variances in the budget book (including community programs, training and special operations). Wenzel repeatedly said that many of the apparent increases or drops are due to coding changes, where personnel or contracts were moved between program lines to reflect where spending actually occurs; she offered to provide a detailed breakdown to the council.
Wenzel also described specific non-personnel contracts and priorities in the budget: maintenance for neighborhood safety cameras ($300,000), an $840,000 ShotSpotter contract, towing, body-worn-camera contracts, and investments in EMS billing and records-management software. She described technology priorities that include compliance with cybersecurity requirements, a rebaselined real-time crime center plan, and improvements tied to the bus rapid transit project.
The department said it received a $1,000,000 Ohio EMA ARPA First Responder grant to support recruitment and has worked with a private recruitment firm to increase candidate interest. Wenzel told council staff would supply a more detailed line-item coding explanation and historical comparisons to resolve outstanding questions.
No budget vote occurred at the hearing; council requested follow-up documentation from the department on coding and program-level allocations.