By being able to conduct training on its own, Hagerstown Police Department kept its training cost at $1.76 per hour in 2023, according to Police Chief Keith Folkner.
In the police department’s annual report, Folkner said HPD officers completed 849 training hours in 2023, keeping within its $1,500 budget. Many other aspects of police operations remained similar to 2022, he told the Hagerstown Town Council on Feb. 5.
The department investigated 127 reports during 2023, Folkner reported. That included 21 juvenile arrests or reports, two more than in 2022. Of those, school resource officers completed 14.
The department investigated 50 traffic crashes, six more than in 2022. It performed 13 background checks, five more than the previous year, and recorded nine gun permits, two fewer than in 2022.
He said the department received $61,500 in grant funding, including $50,000 to upgrade portable radios. A $30,000 grant for this year will allow for upgrading laptop computers used in police vehicles and office computers.
The department plans to buy a new K9 police dog this year and put aside an $11,500 grant from 2023 to help pay for it. The department raised another $4,000 for the purchase with a golf tournament.
Folkner said HPD reserve officers worked an average of 67 hours per month, mostly covering vacations and time off for regular officers. Paying the reserves instead of paying overtime or double time to regular officers saved between $20,075 to $29,711, he said.
Council member Brian Longbons asked whether the department has been called to assist the Cambridge City Police more frequently in recent months. Folkner said that it has, mostly because Cambridge City has had officers going through the Indiana Police Academy, which requires full-time attendance for several weeks.
Also on Feb. 5, the department decided to have a special meeting on Monday, Feb. 12, to discuss the scope of an anticipated water system renovation. In late 2023, an engineering firm estimated major repairs and line replacement might cost $6 million. By reducing the project scope, the cost has been pared to about $2.18 million, said Lou Savka of Triad Associates. That is the Indianapolis-based firm which conducted a system evaluation that found more than half of the town’s water supply is lost through leakage.
The town hopes to obtain state or federal grants to pay most costs. Application deadlines are approaching and so the council needs to finalize plans, said Chris LaMar, town manager.
The next regular council meeting will be at 6:30 p.m. Monday, March 4, in Town Hall, 49 E. College St. The public may attend.
A version of this article appeared in the February 14 2024 print edition of the Western Wayne News.