By TYLER ALICEA
One year after the City of Ithaca approved a budget that cut the size of the Ithaca Police Department by nine officers, the Common Council has begun considering adding two officers back to the police force.
“I can’t emphasize the importance of adding more personnel to our department,” IPD Chief John Barber said at a meeting Wednesday. Citing an increase in crime rates in the city, Barber said that the city must increase the number of police officers on the streets.
Under the proposed amendment Common Council is considering, the IPD would be able to add two more officers to its force starting on April 1. The combined cost for the two additional positions would add up to $117,609.
The city has not yet determined how it would fund the new positions.
Speak now | Fay Gougakis, an Ithaca resident, expresses her concern about safety in the City of Ithaca at a special budget hearing Wednesday evening. (Connor Archard / Sun Senior Photographer)