Belvidere Police Department sees small budget increase

By Bob Balgemann

REPORTER

It’s already time for the City of Belvidere and villages in Boone County to work up their 2017-18 budgets. New fiscal years for all of them will begin May 1.

The city’s police department is proposing a 2.08 percent increase over the current budget of $6.304 million. That compares to $6.152 million in 2015-16.

Police Chief Jan Noble and members of his command staff presented their suggested spending plan to the committee of the whole at its Monday, Jan. 23 meeting.

Before the presentation began, Chief Noble announced that his deputy chief of support services, Tony Martin, was retiring after 25 years of service to the city.

Chief Martin said it had been his honor to serve the people of Belvidere for all those years. In working with both the police and fire departments, he said, “My experience is that it’s professional at all levels.”

Chief Noble said his choice for a replacement was Sgt. Matt Wallace, who was at the committee meeting.

Salaries of more than $3.4 million once again take the lion’s share of the police department’s budget.

Chief Noble opened by saying that given the city’s budget constraints, he would not be asking for more personnel. The department had 45 sworn officers in 2008, the year the Great Recession hit, and today it had 43 on staff.

He did have a request involving a civilian employee who transcribes police reports.

Budget and Finance Director Becky Tobin explained that individual currently is paid $13.62 an hour, or $28,318 a year. The requested pay adjustment would increase the hourly rate to $15.09, for a new annual salary of $31,284.

“That’s two percent plus $2500,” she said.

Overall, the increase puts that individual in line with other administrative assistants, but under who “have been with the city for a long time,” Director Tobin said.

Some of the lesser-publicized details of the budget proposal were brought to the committee’s attention.

For example, Belvidere School District 100 pays $50 an hour, or time and one-half, for off-duty officers to provide security at home football and basketball games. The “police presence” can include a sergeant and from three-to-five uniformed officers.

Patrol cars use 40,000 gallons of fuel each year and, as in the past, it’s “anyone’s guess” as to how much a gallon of gas will cost in the coming fiscal year. Tobin said staff believes $80,000 to $85,000 will cover that cost in 2017-18.

Martin called community policing “the hallmark of the police department.” The Volunteers in Police Service assist with parades and other special events throughout the year.

The department will retire three high-mileage vehicles in 2017-18 and replace all of them.

One new initiative of the police department is the Sex Offender State Disbursement program.

Deputy Chief Shane Woody explained sex offenders are required to register with the city and now will be charged $100 a year. That fee will be divided as followed: $35 to the City of Belvidere; $30 to the state attorney general’s office; $30 to the state police; and $5 to the state treasurer’s office.

Noble said his department currently was tracking 54 sex offenders “in our jurisdiction. Those who come here from out-of-state are compelled to tell us where they are living.”

Alderman Dan Snow asked if they register every year.

Sgt. Wallace replied that they have to come in anytime they change their address or telephone number. The homeless must re-register every week.

“We may re-register some sex offenders multiple times each year,” he said. “It’s very time consuming for the police department.”

The budget item drawing the most discussion had to do with remodeling an old house, on the north side of the public safety building, which was purchased with seized money.

Woody said the building currently is used for storage, but now it’s needed for other purposes. So, the plan is to remove rotted drywall and flooring, and to make other improvements.

The renovated space would be used for the SWAT team and its fitness equipment, he explained. Department personnel could be used to help defray the cost of remodeling.

Alderman Ron Brooks immediately asked if using officers could create problems with the unions.

“Just look at the overall picture of an injury on the job,” he said. “Someone cuts off a finger; something happens with a buzz saw.”

Woody said that in his experience he never had any problems with unions. Still, “we would have to take a look at all that when making a final decision,” he said.