The City of Youngstown wants to expand its police department by hiring more officers and purchasing a handful of new vehicles.

The City is now eying a $1.6 million grant from the Department of Justice that could take some of the hiring expense off the city. 

The COPS Hiring Program (CHP) Grant could pay for a portion of 15 new hire's salaries. The Youngstown Police Department currently staffs 84 patrol officers, 30 detective sergeants, 8 lieutenants, 3 captains, and Chief Carl Davis. Those dollars could help pay for a portion of entry-level salaries and fringe benefits, allowing them to put more city dollars toward vehicle purchases. 

"This is something we want to accept because it is going to cover 75% of our new hires," Finance Director Kyle Miasek said during Friday's safety committee meeting. "The grant will cover 75%, and we will cover 25%. We are already hiring these officers. Instead of them being 100% out of pocket by the city, we're going to get 75% back from the state until these dollars are exhausted."

Councilwoman Anita Davis is a retired YPD officer. She's calling for YPD to onboard more women to the department, and Chief Davis said he plans to hire more.

"I believe in representation," Davis said. "You know, I ask Chief Davis this every time we have a bunch of hires within the police department and fire department. Are we getting equal representation so far as females, minorities, etc?"

The city could have been partially reimbursed for recently hiring three cadets and one police officer in the first quarter of 2025, but the city missed the deadline. 

"We haven't lost any money from this grant," Miasek explained. "We just are not getting as much as we thought we would have in 2025. We're still on the receiving end of the grant, it is just going to be extended longer because we're not drawing down as much in 2025 as we could have if we accepted the grant sooner."

Chief Carl Davis says he is combing through a handful of applications from men and women as they work to bring more staff to the department.

"We pre-pay everything up front, and then we submit documentation to the state, and they reimburse us," Miasek explained to the safety committee on Friday. Miasek said reimbursements would take place every quarter.

If passed by council, the department could begin using these funds this July and would have until September 30, 2029 to exhaust the $1.6 million.