Committee approves payroll-deduction plan to let officers buy back replaced pistols

The Ways and Means Committee approved a plan Aug. 7 to allow police officers to finance purchases of their department-traded pistols via city-facilitated payroll deductions.

The item matters because it permits officers to reacquire service pistols the department traded in when it moved to a new pistol platform and establishes repayment safeguards and paperwork reviewed by city staff.

Sullivan, presenting for the police department, said the department traded in old pistols when it adopted a new platform and arranged with the distributor to hold the traded pistols for officers who wished to buy them back. Sullivan told the committee that 23 officers indicated interest and the total purchase price for those pistols would be $9,388. "We're asking the city to finance that, and then you'll be reimbursed through a payroll deduction until that amount is paid back to the city," Sullivan said.

Committee members asked questions about repayment and liability. Human-resources staff confirmed an accelerated payment plan exists for officers who leave before completing payroll deductions and that officers have signed formal agreements. The city attorney reviewed the necessary paperwork, and staff said officers must complete federal firearms background checks for the transfer. Sullivan said the city will not own the firearms at any point; the distributor currently holds them and ownership will transfer to officers after the background checks.

Committee members also confirmed that employees could make larger payments or pay the full amount up front instead of using payroll deductions and that the deduction could be as small as "$25 per paycheck" if the officer chooses that schedule. The presenter said the department would float the initial cost within its supplies budget and replenish it as payroll deductions are collected.

A motion to approve the pistol payroll-deduction plan carried by voice vote with no recorded opposition. Committee members directed staff to proceed with the documented repayment agreements and required background-check and transfer procedures.

No legal or insurance conditions were added during the committee discussion; staff said the existing paperwork and HR coordination address control and documentation of the transfers.