Williamsport Bureau of Police leadership says the department is operating on limited manpower based on the size of the city and coverage needs.

“I am going to sound like a broken record up here,” said Chief Justin Snyder during a budget meeting last week.

Council had considered removing a first-year officer position by attrition, a temporary measure until the city was better positioned financially.

But instead, after hearing from Snyder and reading a report of facts and figures given by Capt. Justin Ottaviano, and hearing from Ottaviano, council had the votes to eventually reduce the salary item of $71,700, to account for an officer’s possible military deployment in January.

Before the votes, the first to reduce the position by attrition, which was voted down, and the second to reduce the salary line by $71,700, which passed, Snyder spoke about the human aspect of these decisions.

As cited in prior budget sessions, with the size of the department “we should be roughly at 68 to 70 officers,” he said. “I know that is not going to happen,” he noted.

“I am not ignorant to the position that we are in now, but with that being said we are doing the work of 68 officers with 50 right now,” Snyder said.

Cutting might look good on paper, or black and white, he added, but that money is going to be spent elsewhere — to cover a position that the city took away.

It was a reason that Snyder asked council members to go on ride-a-longs to gain insight on the tempo and pace officers work.

Snyder told the council to look at the sick time because officers are expected to provide a level of service and that is running them ragged.

“They will make it happen, but it is at what cost?” Snyder asked.

“You start looking at the well being of the officers,” Snyder said. “When that starts to drop, then you start worrying about interactions that you have in the community,” he said citing examples of officers being irritable, and the city spending money now on covering the overtime, the sick time, because it is elevating.

“It goes for the fire department as well,” Snyder said, a show of support for his fellow members in public safety on the fire end. Council earlier voted down an attempt to reduce a first-year firefighter position by attrition.

Council President Adam Yoder said he appreciated the reiteration of concerns about the human element of the department made by Snyder who has addressed the issue in several budget sessions.

Before the amendment vote on the police matter, Council Vice President Eric Beiter asked what the city does if the officer is deployed in January and returns from deployment in 2027.

“Then we need to know that we are in a better position to maintain the hire or we need to move on an attrition concept in 2027,” Councilwoman Liz Miele, chair of the finance committee, said.

“It’s not a perfect idea,” she said.

Ottaviano provided a summary of the information he gave to the council.

In the current budget, the bureau eliminated over $136,000 from the budget by making some changes – less administrators, eliminating a position (assistant chief), and some retirements.

In the budget, there is a new hire rate, but that is not accurate, he said.

“We hire and it shows up as a full year,” Ottaviano explained. However, by the time he or she goes to the police academy, which is covered by grant funding, that does not start until May, he said.

The officer starts the academy and that is six months of no pay for that new hire, he said.

For the next six months, which takes them up until the last six weeks of the year, they are getting a “cadet rate,” or about $14 per hour, he said.

The police budget shows $59,000 cost for the new hire, when in reality it is just under $20,000, Ottaviano’s calculations revealed.

Unlike the fire department, the police academy is fully reimbursed, he noted. It is $5,500 per officer for the academy and a grant has been approved, he said. This money would go back into the general fund, he explained. Along with this, 45 % of that salary is also reimbursed, he noted. For 2026, that is a bit more than $11,000, he remarked.

As for hiring two officers – that is needed – because the department is down one, and the budget is for 51.

“We have 50 right now due to a retirement we had in November,” he said. “We’ll have another retirement coming up that we know of, likely early in the year, so we would need to hire two officers,” he said.

Those savings there are over $100,000, he noted.

The deployment of the officer should be confirmed by the first week of January.

The bureau is required to pay him his contractual military leave and vacation time. “That is almost a $72,000 savings,” he said.

Between the two figures, that is $172,000 in savings, which is more than two officers in salary including adding medical benefits.