ROCKVILLE, Md. – Montgomery County officials want to put more police on the street next year.
Funding for additional officers is part of Montgomery County Executive Ike Leggett’s $4.9 billion operating budget proposal for fiscal year 2015.
In the spending plan laid out on Monday, Leggett proposed providing $11 million to fund 23 additional sworn officers, two forensic scientists and add to the number of School Resource Officers.
Montgomery County Police Chief Thomas Manger says that Leggett’s budget plan allows for the continuation of a strategic attack on crime.
During the past three years, Manger says, “We identified the neighborhoods that had the highest crime rates, and one by one, we’ve been putting additional resources, additional officers, in those areas”.
Manger says the extra officers has achieved results.
“In each one of those areas, where we put additional officers, we saw a decline in the crime rate.”
Manger says he’s hoping to continue those positive results.
Gaithersburg and Silver Spring got additional officers in the past. Germantown and Wheaton would benefit from the extra manpower in the coming year under Leggett’s proposal.
The funding is part of a proposed 5 percent increase for the police department’s operating budget. The total county budget would increase 3.3 percent.
The County Council will hold budget hearings in April. A final vote on the budget is expected in May.
WTOP’s Kate Ryan contributed to this report. Follow @kateryanWTOP and @WTOP on Twitter.
