Written by The ole Swamp Fox has heard some folks complaining about the staffing and budget increases of the Marion Police Department in recent years, so he decided to pull some figures to see if there’s any merit to the complaints.
As you can see from the attached image, staffing levels in the MPD jumped from 55 in 2017 to 68 in 2024, an increase of 23.64%.
In 2017, the MPD had $7,760,073 in budget expenditures. Out of that, $5,734,212 (73.89%) went toward paying the salaries and benefits of its staff of 55. The mean average salary and benefits received by an MPD employee in 2017 was $104,258.
Fast forward to 2024. The MPD’s budget expenditures increased to $9,481,935, an increase of $1,721,862 over 2017. Salaries and benefits accounted for $8,016,309 (84.54%) of the total expenditures by the department. Meanwhile, total staffing had increased to 68 and the mean average paid for salaries and benefits had jumped to $117,887 per employee.
Comparing the two years, the MPD spent $2,282,097 more on salaries and benefits in 2024 than it did in 2017. Most of that increase, of course, was in the additional hires it made.
Interestingly, under the proposed 2026 budget, the MPD will have a total budget of $10,090,558. A hearty $9,231,158 (91.48%) will go toward salaries and benefits. If I recall correctly, as discussed at a recent council meeting, current staff levels are still at 68. If so, the average MPD employee will cost $135,752 this year–an increase of 15.15% since 2024.
So there you go, folks. There’s a rundown of the numbers for the Marion Police Department.
Is the MPD overstaffed and overpaid?
That’s for you to decide.