Police Department’s Proposed $111 Million Budget Focuses on Increasing Number of Officers, Updating Technology

Despite the oft-repeated claim by some local activists, Pasadena’s police Department budget is not the highest Departmental budget in the City.

The budget for the City’s utility, the Water and Power Department, is about three times that of the Police Department.

Nevertheless, the Pasadena Police Department is recommending a not inconsequential $111 million for fiscal year 2024-2025 — 5.2% higher than the Department’s current-year budget.

The bulk of the budget, $93.059 million, would be allocated to personnel costs. This budget, which is mainly for officers’ wages, will increase by $5 million, up from $88.551 million.

Pasadena Police Department Chief Eugene Harris’ report to the Public Safety Committee last week revealed that the budget for this year’s personnel costs increased because of additional staff and negotiated salary increases.

This fiscal year, the Department added three new park safety positions and a new police support assistant and it is looking to add more officers in the next fiscal year.

Harris said the Department will prioritize recruitment efforts, particularly for sworn, dispatch, park safety, and lead detention officers.

“The overall priorities for us are going to center around recruitment. Certainly continued outreach in the recruitment efforts,” said Harris.

Currently, the Pasadena Police Department has 235 personnel. Harris said he would like to see it increase to about 279 personnel.

In support, Mayor Victor Gordo stressed the need for having more police officers in Pasadena.

“I’ve advocated for the hiring of more officers because of the complexity of our city,’ said Gordo.

Gordo said besides being a very active city with lots of events, Pasadena also has the issues that are normally found in larger cities. “We have our business districts as well. So all of that requires a higher number of officers.” he said.

“As you settle in and analyze the needs of the Department, the future needs of the city, particularly as we move into preparations for large events such as the Olympics, I look forward to hearing from you, Chief, what from your perspective, is the appropriate staffing level to keep our city safe and secure,” Gordo told Harris.

A total of $8.573 million is allocated to services and supplies, which has increased by 13.1%. $9.128 million is proposed to be allocated to Internal Service Charges, which has increased by 7.4% and $317,000 will be allocated to capital outlay costs, which went down by 66.7%.

Aside from recruitment efforts, Harris said the Department will also prioritize this fiscal year technology updates “to “mitigate human error,” and make the Department ”more effective.”

The Department’s proposed budget increase also includes the purchase of Axon Body Worn Cameras — a device that automatically turns on and records when an officer draws a gun, as well as the purchase of new tasers. $721,000 is allocated for these equipment.

The budget also includes the purchase of a Mobile Observation and Security tower worth $172,000.

“We are certainly looking at advanced technology moving forward over the next three to five years,” Harris said. “In the spirit of transparency, those have become extreme priorities for us as far as our commitment to the future.”

The Department will continue its community engagement efforts to strengthen ties with the community, according to Harrris. Included among the programs this year is Camp Pasadena, a program designed to provide kids with an opportunity to camp with members of the Pasadena Police Department.

“It’s a really big deal. They’re really taking it seriously and we’re hoping that next year and in years to come, it will be moved from 40 kids on our inaugural camp to 80 kids annually,” Harris said. “We wanted to make sure that the community could see that we’re making an active change.”