City Of Wauwatosa Budget Highlights: Finance And Police Departments

Press release from the City of Wauwatosa:

October 22, 2020

We are in the process of developing the operating and capital budgets. Our operating budget represents day-to-day expenses, wages, utilities, and purchases of items intended to last less than a year. The capital budget includes infrastructure, city property, and long-term equipment purchases.

On October 27, Financial Affairs will be discussing the Finance and Police Departments. Below are highlights from their budgets. You can view the full draft budget and submit public comment online.

Finance Department

In 2020, the Finance Department successfully launched the first module of the city's new enterprise planning resource system. This represents a significant technological upgrade for the city. This system is already streamlining the way we process paperwork digitally, and it will also allow our business partners and residents to have easier access to information online.

The department has also selected a new service provider that integrates credit card collection, so that customers will eventually be able to pay for more city services online if they choose.

In future modules coming in the next 2-3 years, the goals are to increase customer online capabilities, such as the ability to pay bills, initiate requests, and apply for permits and licenses online.

Police Department

The police department has purchased a body-worn camera system. All officers serving the public on the street will wear body-worn cameras by January 2021.

They are continue to enroll sworn officers in Crisis Intervention Team training. Officers will attend a week-long, intensive, hands-on training that presents techniques to officers to implement in response to calls for service that necessitate crisis intervention.

Additionally, the police department will be actively engaged in understanding the concepts of bias, both implicit and explicit, through internal training programs coupled with the City’s Implicit Bias training program.

The budget changes for 2021 include an increase to the budget of $130,132 for a year two contract payment to AXON Inc. for Body-Worn Camera System purchase. Also, two part-time office assistant vacancies will be eliminated in 2021, leading to a $64,698 budget decrease.

This press release was produced by the City of Wauwatosa. The views expressed here are the author’s own.