Mayor Miro Weinberger Statement Regarding Raise in Authorized Officer Cap
Burlington, VT – Late Monday evening the Burlington City Council voted by a margin of 8-4 to raise the authorized cap of officers at the Burlington Police Department to 79 officers. With an additional 8 officers at the Airport currently, this action effectively raises the cap from 74 to 87 officers. Mayor Weinberger made the following statement:
“The City Council acted correctly this evening in restoring the ranks of our police department to a functional and operational number of 87 officers, one shy of CNA’s maximum recommendation and squarely in the range I have been recommending through over a year of debate. It will take a long time to repair the grave decline of our public safety capacity that was initiated last June, but tonight’s action does send a positive message to our officers and the Burlington community that public safety and maintaining a viable department remain a shared goal of the Administration and the Council.
I commend the councilors who long stood behind a resourced and professional department for their fortitude, and I thank councilors Hightower and Stromberg for recognizing through their votes that our sworn officers are foundational to realizing our shared goals of a transformed, progressive public safety infrastructure in Burlington.”
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