MIDDLETOWN, Ohio — The city of Middletown’s 2025 budget will be approved by the city council this month and focuses on police staffing to ensure safety as city officials expect the population to grow.

Six Middletown police officers were promoted this week. For the first time in almost a year, the Middletown Police Division has a full command staff. Now they are looking to add.

“We had a lot of forced overtime and other scheduling issues that increased our costs but also burned out our employees,” said Interim City Manager Nathan Cahall. “Therefore, this staffing plan aims to reduce wear and tear on our most important asset, which is our people.”

The 2025 budget includes “planned deficit spending.” According to our partners at the Journal-News, the budget has projected revenues of approximately $51.5 million to $54.9 million in expenses after two years.

This is an investment made now in anticipation of future growth. The city told WCPO they anticipate the population will grow by between 700 and 1,000 people.

“Little by little, over the last few years, the city council has approved increasing police personnel,” Cahall said. “Our community leaders decided to defer some expenses and allow the general fund to accumulate some cost savings over time. And now it has been determined that it appears to be the right time to leverage those savings for the needs of our community.”

Currently, the city’s police division has 82 officers. This plan would increase the number to 88 and cost approximately $700,000. While the city council is on board with the plan to include more officers, it is still unclear exactly how many will be needed in a year.