Sentinel staff report–
Using newly acquired federal relief funding from the American Rescue Plan, the Citrus Heights City Council on Thursday unanimously approved allocating $5.35 million to the Police Department’s budget over the next two years.
The funding will go to pay for hiring two full-time police sergeants and a dozen police officers, whose positions had been left unfilled due to budget constraints. Additionally, the funds will also pay for one crime scene evidence specialist, two police dispatchers, one dispatch assistant, a records assistant and a program assistant.
Two community services officers will also be hired part-time, for a total of 22 positions being filled using the funds. The total will bring the department up to its pre-pandemic levels, which city staff determined was an authorized use of the federal COVID-19 relief funding.
Police Chief Ron Lawrence said previously that filling all of the positions immediately will not be feasible, but he expects to see all positions filled by the end of this year.
From April: Citrus Heights passes controversial budget in split 3-2 vote
The City Council in a split 3-2 vote had previously passed a budget in April which slashed police funding to $19.5 million for the next fiscal year, citing budget limitations. The council’s action on Thursday amended that budget to account for the city being allocated $15.6 million in federal relief funding.