Councilman seeks additional officer

(3/17) A Taneytown councilman requested, on behalf of the municipal Police Department, for a new police officer during the Council's March 4 workshop session, citing that hiring a new officer would “effectively, be an investment on the future.”

Councilman Joe Vigliotti stated, “I would like to press the case for an additional (police) officer.”

“I have spoken with the Police Department, and they wanted me first and foremost to assure everybody that they know that every member of this body supports them,” Vigliotti said. “There's no doubt about that whatsoever, and there should be no concerns on the part of anybody here that they’re worried about whether or not you support them.”

He stated, “They also wanted me to pass along that the understanding that they do recognize there are financial constraints, and that they do understand the concerns that were expressed at the budget workshop about those constraints,” adding, “They also wanted me to explain that whatever decision this body reaches on the additional officer, they will abide by, and they'll make that decision work in the end.”

Vigliotti noted that Taneytown was recently named the second safest city in the State of Maryland. “That speaks to the caliber of our officers and that speaks to the community that we live in. Just because we are the second safest city doesn't justify or excuse the fact that we don't have the number of officers that adequate facilities suggest that we should have,” the councilman said.

“We know there have been scheduling difficulties, and that there's been a lot of overtime that has been accrued from officers who have been dealing with, not only decreased manpower for the last three years, but they have been performing their regular duties, and they've also been attending special events,” he told his fellow Council members.

“Now in terms of the finances,” Vigliotti said, “I do admit readily that we will have to draw on reserve funding to secure an additional officer.” The councilman estimated that it would cost around $30,000 for an additional new hire to come onto the police force, and an additional $7,075 for equipment for the officer.

He said this total amount, $37,075, could be borrowed from the reserve to accomplish the hiring.

The Council has not yet acted on Vigliotti's request, but the 2020-2021 budget has not been adopted, only introduced. Vigliotti told the News-Journal, “At the Monday regular meeting, we unanimously voted to introduce the budget. It will now go to a public hearing in April and will still be amendable and debatable by mayor and Council.”

The councilman further stated, “I intend, in April, to continue to press the case for the additional officer at the workshop then, and will make a motion to amend the budget to include that additional officer at the following regular meeting.”

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