LGPD expects expenses to increase by $411,000 in 2027
The Lake Geneva Police Department's expenses are set to increase by about $411,000 in 2027, while its revenues are projected to increase by about $96,117.
Chief Edward Gritzner presented the department's proposed budget during a Police and Fire Commission meeting Aug. 24.
The department's expenses are expected to be about $6.85 million in 2027 compared to about $6.44 million in 2026.
However, about $378,600 of that increase is related to contract obligations, wage resolutions and health insurance cost increases, and about $32,480 is related to operational control costs.
About $4.2 million (62%) of the department's 2027 budget is allocated for salaries and wages, $1.9 million (28%) for benefits and insurance, $469,422 (7%) for operational costs and supplies, and $183,300 (3%) for equipment and capital costs.
The department is projected to spend about $3.8 million on salaries for fulltime staff, including hiring three new officers to replace two retiring officers, Sgt. Jason Hall and Sgt. William Thornburgh, and recently-resigned officer Emily Sarles.
"We're losing significant staff," Gritzner said.
The department is set to purchase two new squad cars for about $94,600 each and a new digital fingerprinting system for about $30,000. Gritzner said the current fingerprinting system is about 11 years old and needs to be replaced.
"We kicked that down the road four more years than we should've, but it still worked," Gritzner said. "We didn't need to replace it, so we didn't. It's definitely time now in 2027."
The department's health insurance costs are expected to increase from about $894,769 in 2026 to about $949,311 in 2027.
"We're very lucky, the past two years we've had 0% increases in health insurance," Gritzner said. "It could come in at 0% again, but I would imagine our luck has to run out eventually."
New programs
The department is set to establish a K9 program, which is expected to cost about $3,750 in 2027 and will include food, veterinary care and operational costs related to the two canines that the department plans to obtain for the program.
A new employee wellness program, which will cost about $4,600, also is set to be implemented.
"It's essentially getting an estimated amount of our employees neck-up, check-ups," Gritzner said. "They can go and talk to somebody on duty, not in our own backyard, to do mental health checks with them."
Department revenue
The department's revenue is projected to increase from about $308,000 in 2026 to about $404,183 in 2027, which includes about $169,827 in wage reimbursements, $70,271 in communication service reimbursements from the Lake Geneva Fire Department, $70,271 in communication service reimbursements from the Parking Department, $45,000 in state grants, $10,560 in law enforcement training aid, $6,000 in donations from the Shop with a Cop program and $5,000 in general donations.
Additional revenue is includes, $4,950 in federal grants, $3,600 in vehicle lock-out fees, $2,740 in blood draw reimbursements, $2,445 in miscellaneous revenue, $1,000 for property seizures and $520 in fingerprinting fees.
City Council is scheduled to consider approval of the city's 2027 budget, which includes the police department budget, Nov. 23.
