A $50,000 annual support line item for a new 911 center, three new police officers with 4% blanket raises and education salary increase incentives, are included for the Valparaiso Police Department as part of the 2022 proposed $39 million Valparaiso city budget.
“The police department is the biggest budget difference this year, and that’s mostly because of the number of police officers we have and the 4% raises across the board, as well as the addition of three new police officers,” said Valparaiso Clerk-Treasurer Holly Taylor reviewing the police department expenses and administrative costs to Mayor Matt Murphy and council members.
“Under ‘other services’ for police, we have to include $51,000 as an annual amount we will have to have for the next 10 years, because of the new 911 center.”
Since June, Porter County Central Communications, which operates the 911-response dispatch, has been transitioning a move from the staff’s existing headquarters in the Porter County Sheriff’s building. The operations are now based at a new state-of-the-art facility at 157 Franklin St. downtown and continuing as the primary answering location for all calls in Porter County to dispatch all Porter County fire, EMS and rescue teams and eight of the 10 surrounding police agencies.
In July, Valparaiso Police Chief Jeffrey Balon announced the addition of a full-time social worker to his police department staff secured with a successful grant application approved by a federal program administrated by Health Link to fund the new position for a qualified candidate with a master’s degree in social work. The new social worker, whose name has not been announced, started in September with an annual salary of $54,000 as covered by the grant for one year, with City of Valparaiso funds covering the added expense of insurance and benefits, which is also included in the 2022 budget.
Balon adjusted his department budget to allow for the additional money needed to cover the added months of the salary for October through December 2022 in expectation the grant program funds might cease and not renewed after 12 months.
Evan Costas, R-At large, asked how the police department determines when more police officers are needed to be added to the staff.
“How do you gauge when you need to add more crew when it comes to the police force,” Costas asked.
Balon said a formula is used, including a comparison to police departments in other communities.
“We base staffing per capita, using national averages as well, factoring officers per every 1,000 citizens in the community served,” Balon said.
City Administrator Mike Jessen explained the three additional officer positions added for 2022 fill needs such as the added patrol areas, which have increased as neighborhoods are annexed into Valparaiso, and also the demand for another traffic enforcement officer to assure road safety.
“What we’ve found is, ideally, we would like to have four 10-man crews, and right now we are at nine officers per crew, and we have to consider the anticipation of retirement of officers and time-off,” Balon said.
Additional compensation for the police department in the new budget include a physical fitness financial incentive, a veteran pay increase of $1,000 annually, along with educational pay increases tiered based on the degree earned, starting with $500 for an associates, $1,000 for bachelors, $1,500 for masters and $2,000 for a doctorate added to the annual salary.
A second council vote to pass the police budget will be at the Sept. 27 council meeting.
Philip Potempa is a freelance reporter for the Post-Tribune.
