We're continuing to get the department fully staffed.”

Police Chief Thomas Olson, city of Port Townsend

The Port Townsend Police Department is set to receive a double-digit increase in funding for 2023.

Of the city of Port Townsend’s
$48.8 million budget for 2023, $4.2 million will be dedicated to the Port Townsend Police Department.

The $4.2 million mark is an 11.6-percent increase in police spending that was budgeted last year, and a 37.3-percent increase from 2021.

The primary contributor to the funding increase is the police department’s staffing pursuit for new police officers.

Currently, the department has a total of 12 full-time police officers, though three of them are currently in police academy training, according to Police Chief Thomas Olson.

“We’re continuing to get the department fully staffed,” Olson said.

The department has an additional three openings for new officers, with the objective of hiring another three officers by the end of 2023, Olson added.

Beyond filling the police department with a total of 15 officers, another role the city is looking to hire for is a deputy police chief.

According to the city budget’s salary schedule, the deputy police chief would make a salary between $107,000 and $130,000.

The deputy police chief role would address, “the need for someone at an executive level to oversee operation of the police department,” Olson said. “Currently, I’m doing all of that and we need to move the department forward.”

Funding for the police department makes up 27 percent of the city’s general fund of $15.6 million for 2023, according to Finance Director Connie Anderson.

The general fund is the pool of money that pays for parks, planning, police, and other government services.

The city’s general fund in 2022 was $13.7 million, $9.1 million in 2021, and $9.6 million in 2020, according to the general fund summary portion of the 2023 budget.

The increase in spending on police follows intense scrutiny of city spending on law enforcement that followed the murder of George Floyd by a Minneapolis police officer in 2020. Cities across the country took a fresh look at funding for police, and in Port Townsend, a special committee was set up to examine the resources the city was devoting to public safety.

The city’s budget does not explicitly set out how next year’s total budget for the police department stacks against prior years. Comparison figures for this story came following an information request made to the city by The Leader.

While the city lists police administration, operations, and training within the general fund portion of the 2023 budget, the total amount to be used on the police department and prior year’s figures are not listed in the 126-page document.

City Councilmember Ben Thomas, who joined the council this year, said he favors a more transparent and publicly-accessible process to the annual city budget.

“I would love to see an outside-in view on the budget. My dream would be an interactive spreadsheet that starts with our basic breakdown by department that shows our priorities as a city government, then goes into more detail the further you click,” Thomas said via email correspondence with The Leader.

“In talking separately with Chief Olson and in previous budget-related meetings, our police budget is increasing due to a few factors,” Thomas added. “Wage increases with a new union labor deal, retention and recruitment bonuses, academy training, and getting back up to past staffing levels are all part of a post-COVID and post-George Floyd reality.”

Beyond the general fund, the city will also utilize American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) monies to cover the purchase of two new police cruisers for $178,000 (or $89,000 each).

The city’s purchase of new police vehicles last year prompted public complaints.

“I know that’s controversial, but in doing my recent ride-along with the police, I learned that the cars really are needed, if not today, then at least in the next year,” Thomas said of the planned purchase.

“A lot of miles get put on those cars daily. Unfortunately, they’re not quite ready to switch to electric given the current options and supply-chain wait times,” he added.

The city will also use ARPA funds for $4,155 for advanced police recruitment and $25,000 for a police staff vehicle replacement, according to the ARPA funds portion of the city budget.

“If we’re going to have police at all in our society, I believe the closer they are to the community the better our collective experience will be,” Thomas said. “If I were to design a system from scratch around keeping the peace, it would certainly be less militaristic in nature, but I’m not here to micromanage their process. I’m more interested in working with them on the goals, namely keeping, the peace, defending the vulnerable and protecting property.”