NEWBURGH – The top brass in the Newburgh City Police Department had sought the re-creation of a SWAT team including the purchase of a $100,000 armored vehicle. That did not make it into the spending plan that the city council is currently mulling over.
Mayor Torrance Harvey says the money will remain in the budget. “The $110,000 will be reallocated into, hopefully, needs within public safety, whether that be police, and/or fire,” he said.
The $66.6 million 2024 city budget, which will be approved in late November, includes funding to hire a full-time deputy police chief. The 2023 budget included money for a part-time deputy chief, but the job was not filled, thus the additional money for a full-time deputy.
Also, the 2023 city budget included funding for a fire commissioner. That post has yet to be filled.
Mayor Harvey notes that the proposed 2024 budget includes the fourth year in a row that city property taxes will decrease.
