FORTVILLE — The town of Fortville needs to almost double the size of its police force, according to the police chief.
That’s a lot of money for a small, albeit growing, town with budget constraints. But officials plan to take a hard look at the numbers to see if they can provide any help.
The Fortville Police Department has eight full-time road patrol officers, not including its two administrative officers.
Addressing the Fortville Town Council at a meeting last week, police chief Bill Knauer said a staffing allocation formula calculates that the department needs 15 full-time road patrol officers.
Knauer based the figure on the Bartell Formula of Manpower Allocation, which took into account the police department’s most recent data on factors like calls for service, time spent on calls for service, road miles to patrol, number of traffic stops and number of investigations.
Fortville police handled almost 8,000 calls for service in 2019, up about 10% from the year before, Knauer said.
The police department is on duty 24/7, with officers working 12-hour shifts.
“Our goal always is to have double coverage, and that very seldom happens,” Knauer said.
Fortville had a population of more than 3,900, according to the 2010 census, and was estimated to have a population nearing 4,100 in 2018. New houses are going up in town as well.
“We need some help,” Knauer told the council. “I don’t know how it’s going to get paid for. That’s on the council pretty much. But we got to have some help. Our guys are tired. Anything that you can do to help would certainly be appreciated.”
Knauer told the Daily Reporter that a new police officer costs more than $100,000 their first year, before dropping about 40% after taking into account non-repeating expenses like equipment.
Fritz Fentz, Fortville Town Council president, told the Daily Reporter he’s not sure how much the town’s policymakers will be able to help the police department this year.
“We don’t even know if we have the money,” he said.
Fentz added funds might get even tighter for Fortville as Vernon Township, which Fortville is in, works to increase its maximum tax levy. A bill is currently making its way through the Indiana General Assembly that would do just that.
Vernon Township getting a bigger slice of the pie would mean other taxing units’ pieces would get smaller. A fiscal impact statement for the bill projects Fortville would lose out on about $54,000 in property tax revenue.
The town of Fortville is holding a financial workshop on Feb. 22. Fentz said the town’s CPA will be in attendance and that police department funding will be part of the discussion.
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WHAT: Fortville Town Council Financial Workshop
WHEN: 9 to 11 a.m. Saturday, Feb. 22
WHERE: Town of Fortville Municipal Building, 714 E. Broadway St., Fortville
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