The $350,000 that was taken out last year has been returned for cruiser replacement.
Because a police department works 24 hours a day, seven days a week on three different shifts, Fuller noted officers spend much of their day in their cruisers.
“Those are their offices,” she said.
Personnel costs
Personnel also drive budget costs. There are approximately 970 employees on the city side (not including school employees) and many are union members, said the mayor. There are usually “step increases” in union contracts which in turn, require a budget increase.
Fuller said when Carmichael starts, the city will re-evaluate the police hiring process and consider whether to withdraw from civil service in order to diversify the pool of candidates.