Acting Mayor Laura Lewis’ 2023 Mayor’s Recommended Budget proposes reducing the number of funded officer positions from 50 to 43, the lowest number on record. The Ithaca Police Department is authorized for 60 Police Officers.
The recommended budget proposes to eliminate funding for seven open police officer positions. The 2023 Budget Narrative states that the Ithaca Police Department “currently have 15 open Police Officer positions” with the budget “including funding for 8 of those vacancies.”
The 2023 budget proposes to reduce the number of funded officer positions to 43, one fewer than in 2021, and 12 fewer positions than in 2012.
It is not uncommon for the budget to fail to fund all open officer positions. The final budget overseen by former mayor Carolyn Peterson in 2012 included funding for 55 officer positions out of a total of 60 open positions.
The 2013 budget, the first overseen by then mayor Svante Myrick, saw a reduction in funding from 55 to a total of 50 officer positions.
At a June 7th, 2020 ‘Racial Justice Rally,’ then mayor Myrick boasted that “eight years ago, my first year in office, I defunded the Ithaca Police Department by fifteen percent.”
Funding remained consistent for 50 officers until 2015, when the number of funded positions was increased by 2 to a total of 52.
The number of funded officer positions remained at 52 from 2015 until 2021, when the number of funded positions was reduced to 44.
In 2022, the number of funded officer positions was increased back to 50, where it currently stands.
Public Hearing #1 of the 2023 Budget Schedule is Wednesday, October 12th at 6:00 PM. The budget discussion will include Public Safety, specifically the Police & Fire Departments, as well as Reimagining Public Safety.
