Chief Holden outlines police budget: body cameras, tactical vests and vehicle replacements funded

Police Chief Holden (speaker 9) presented five police-related budgets and identified a set of funded and unfunded priorities. He said training and education line items rose to $60,000 and highlighted two sizable equipment contracts: a body-worn camera contract at $234,084 and tactical armor (vests) totaling $88,100 to outfit the SWAT team.

"That'll outfit our entire SWAT team with big protective armor, and theirs is outdated as of this year," Chief Holden said, and he described the body-camera contract as essential to maintaining the program. Holden also said the department included financing for 10 replacement vehicles this year because many units are over 100,000 miles. On staffing, he said the department continues to use vacancy savings to cover overtime costs while recruitment proceeds.

Council members asked whether certain weapons and uniform upgrades could be deferred; Holden replied that some equipment could be delayed several years but would need replacement within a three-year planning horizon. The chief also described a change to investigative funding for the Mustang task force: after federal forfeiture restrictions, the group established a $5,000 membership fee to replace prior forfeiture-funded purchases for narcotics buys.

The committee did not vote on budget adoption at the meeting; the police budget remains subject to further amendment as the committee reviews overall revenue estimates and capital requests.