Cambridge Police Department Proposes $57 Million Budget for FY27

The Cambridge Police Department is seeking more than $57 million from the city for the upcoming fiscal year — roughly a $1.5 million increase from last year’s budget.

The proposal, presented to the City Council’s Finance Committee by department leadership on Tuesday, marks the second consecutive year the department has requested significantly less funding than in previous projections.

In fiscal years 2024 and 2025, the department projected budgets approaching $80 million. In fiscal year 2026, after the city experienced a roughly $24 million drop in tax revenue, CPD proposed a reduced budget of $55.8 million.

Tuesday’s meeting marked the department’s first draft of its proposed fiscal year 2027 budget. While the total has increased from last year, the police budget has grown more slowly than the city’s overall spending.

Over the past decade, Cambridge’s total city budget has increased by 87 percent, while the police budget has grown by 57 percent. During that same period, CPD’s share of the city’s total budget declined slightly, from 6.7 percent to 5.6 percent.

While more than 90 percent of the proposed 2027 budget is allocated for employee pay, it includes a $130,000 increase for non-personnel technology spending.

Police officials said the additional funding would primarily support an expansion of the department’s network of security cameras, building on a pilot program launched in Central Square last summer. Police Commissioner Christine A. Elow said during Tuesday’s meeting that Harvard Square could be a potential future location for additional cameras.

Several councilors, however, questioned the effectiveness of some department initiatives and expressed frustration with the limited detail accompanying the proposal.

City Councilor Patricia M. “Patty” Nolan ’80 pointed to the Central Square pilot program as an example, saying the department’s report did not clearly demonstrate whether the cameras had improved safety in the area

“How is it that we measure the effectiveness?” Nolan said. “Do we see a reduction in the number of people who feel like the safety of the square or the street life is something that they noticeably see a reduction?”

“That gets to the budget of how we’re deploying our resources — whether that is the most effective use of our patrol time, which is 70 percent of our costs,” Nolan said.

The proposed budget also includes about two percent in departmental savings, including two $600,000 reductions tied to the police cadet program and overtime spending.

CPD identified overtime as an area where spending could be reduced after allocating $5.7 million for it in the previous budget. Under Cambridge’s overtime system, officers are paid directly from the department’s operating budget for assignments outside their regular shifts, such as concerts and community events.

Elow said overtime spending has increased in part because officers are often asked to staff these events while the department continues to struggle with filling its ranks. The department has implemented stricter approval guidelines for overtime, and Elow said CPD plans to hire more officers in 2026.

The department also cited declining interest in its police cadet program, which was originally budgeted at $1 million for 15 participants. According to Elow, the city plans to reduce the number of available slots, allowing for lower spending.

Of the roughly $1.5 million increase proposed for fiscal year 2027, more than 90 percent would go toward personnel costs.

During Tuesday’s meeting, Elow also referenced four new city employees hired to staff the department’s body-worn camera unit. Since the city’s April rollout of body-worn cameras for every officer, more than 57,000 videos have been uploaded from the cameras.

The cameras have also generated 244 public records requests since the rollout. So far, 39 have been fulfilled. Elow said responding to these requests is labor-intensive, as videos must often be reviewed and redacted to remove sensitive information.

“When we get a public records request, and on average, it takes four to six minutes to review one minute of officer video,” Elow said.

Body-worn cameras have been one of the department’s most expensive recent initiatives. Nearly $1 million was allocated to the unit overseeing the program in last year’s budget, including $495,000 for the cameras themselves and $489,000 to fund new staff positions.

Negotiations over CPD’s budget will continue in the coming months, and the city is expected to finalize the budget by June.

—Staff writer Shawn A. Boehmer can be reached at [email protected] and on Signal at shawnb.18. Follow him on X @ShawnBoehmer.

—Staff writer Claire A. Michal can be reached at [email protected] and on Signal at ClaireMichal.154.