By Jorge Casuso
June 20, 2025 -- The City Council on Tuesday is expected to adopt a proposed $793.3 million fiscal year budget that boosts the Police Department's efforts to fight crime.
The newly funded or expanded initiatives would add four full-time Community Services Officers (CSO) or one Police Sergeant and one CSO, upgrade security at three City facilities and expand the Department's drone program.
The proposed budget also preserves $1.5 million in funding for "special deployments overtime" in the Police Department's $132.5 million budget that includes salaries for 399 full-time employees.
The proposal to add four community services officers (CSO), who are not sworn law enforcement personnel, at a cost of $490,000 could become a focal point of Tuesday's final budget vote.
"CSOs are professional staff with experience performing preliminary investigations of traffic accidents, crimes, and other incidents that do not require a sworn officer, helping to alleviate the burden on sworn personnel," staff wrote in a report to Council.
"This proposal was updated from Public Services Officers to CSOs due to their ability to assist sworn personnel in conducting investigations of traffic collisions and felony and misdemeanor crimes," staff wrote.
The change was made "after discussion with Police about the expanded scope of duties for community services officers, including investigating and taking reports for routine field incidents and traffic collisions, and the marginal cost differential," staff wrote.
On Tuesday night, the Police Department will request that the Council consider "an alternative staffing recommendation" that would replace the four proposed CSOs with a Police Sergeant and one CSO, according to staff.
"Over the past year, the department has added 11 new patrol officer positions but no additional police supervision," staff wrote, noting that the "additional positions would fall within the $500,000 allocation as directed by Council."
"This imbalance now strains the department’s existing span of control, creating a significant risk to both operational effectiveness and liability exposure.
"The addition of (one) Sergeant will provide additional on scene leadership and better ensure department protocols are followed," staff said.
In addition to boosting police personnel, the final budget proposal includes $100,000 in additional funding to make security upgrades at the Main Library, Miles Playhouse and Camera Obscura.
The "proactive security monitoring solution" provides "real-time detection and intervention" to address crime and loitering in public spaces.
The budget also adds $51,750 to expand SMPD's Drone as a First Responder Program (DFR), which is used to help "monitor significant events, conduct search and rescue operations, and gather intelligence," staff said.
"Drones and their associated technologies need regular updates and maintenance, and this proposal will allow for the purchase of an additional drone and required technological investigative services to keep the DFR program operational."
Funding for the budget initiatives comes from $3.4 million in allocations from Measure K, which enhances public safety by imposing a tax hike on private parking lots that was approved by local voters last November.
Editor's note: This article was updated on June 23 to delete reference to traffic safety officers, who were removed from the budget under the Council's direction at the May 27 budget study session.
