The Rochester Police Accountability Board is proposing a $5 million budget for the next fiscal year so it can hire more than 50 employees to investigate complaints.
The plan, submitted to the city Wednesday, would require City Council approval and would take effect for the 2021-22 fiscal year (July 1, 2021 through June 30, 2022).
In an 85-page budget proposal, the board outlined the creation of three new bureaus — officer accountability, system change, and administration. It estimated it could investigate 480 complaints under this structure.
The proposal would drastically increase PAB funding. The PAB's budget is $396,200 for this current fiscal year, up from 40% from $282,900 in its first year. The PAB currently only has one full-time employee, executive director Conor Dwyer Reynolds. The board members are all volunteers. The new proposal would see the board hire 55 full-time employees.