As both cities experience rapid growth Kyle and Buda have decided in recent years to dedicate more of their resources to their police forces. Kyle is set to swear in 10 new police officers by September. Eight of Kyle’s 10 new officer positions will be patrol officers, Mayor Todd Webster said. A warrant and juvenile officer will each be added to the force as well. Once the new police officers are integrated into the Kyle Police Department ranks, the city will go from having three to five officers on patrol at any given time. “The Kyle citizens will absolutely see more neighborhood presence of police officers and faster response times to their calls for service when we get these officers hired and fully trained to the point where they are operating as a single-officer patrol unit,” Chief Jeff Barnett said. “That will take several months, but those will be two absolutely key points.” In addition, KPD will hire two part-time records specialists, two code- enforcement officers and four 911 dispatchers. With the additional personnel the department’s budget has grown about 12 percent, from $5.64 million in fiscal year 2014-15 to $6.32 million in FY 2015-16. The Buda Police Department added its first police captain position, and a new police clerk will help officers with record keeping. BPD’s budget grew 9.12 percent, from $1.46 million in FY 2014-15 to $1.59 million in FY 2015-16.

Growth calls for more officers

Kyle City Manager Scott Sellers submitted his budget proposal to City Council earlier this year, which included positions for five new police officers. Council members said they decided ultimately to double that because of a desire to make the police force more visible in the community. Council Member Diane Hervol said KPD was the department most in need of additional personnel. “With the growth we are experiencing at a rapid pace, additional law enforcement is needed, especially in patrol,” Hervol said. “The biggest complaint I get from citizens is they don’t see our police officers in their neighborhoods.” Michele Christie is president of the Kyle Citizens Police Academy Alumni Association. Members of the group have completed a course in which they learn about the day-to-day operations of KPD. Christie said the addition of 10 new officers to KPD’s force is a “godsend.” “I’m grateful for what they added, but I hope they don’t think that’s the end,” she said of the council’s decision. Christie, who also sits on the Kyle Planning and Zoning Commission, said with Kyle continuing to grow at a fast pace, KPD’s budget and resources should be increasing every year. “I don’t think [City Council] can ignore it. With more people comes more issues,” she said. “You always want to stay a step ahead of it.” On Oct. 20, BPD celebrated its fifth anniversary. The department began with 11 sworn police officers. The force has grown to 16 since then. Twelve of those are patrol officers. Chief Bo Kidd took the helm of the department from Day 1. “Trying to establish and grow a new department with a very fast-growing city presents a lot of challenges,” Kidd said.

Departments face challenges

Among the challenges the growing police departments face is paperwork. Many KPD officers not only file incident reports but also upload any dashboard camera or body camera footage that may have been taken during a call for service. New record-keeping staff members will help ease some of the burden. “It can take a record specialist hours to [copy the videos from one call for service to a CD],” Barnett said. “Time is diverted … more toward preparing case files that suit the needs of the prosecutor’s office.” Barnett said before Kyle City Council approved the purchase of several new police vehicles in the FY 2014-15 budget there were at least two instances in which an officer had to use three different vehicles to respond to a call because the first two vehicles would break down on the way to the scene. “The maintenance costs were soaring, and those are being reduced now with the new police fleet,” he said. Also before the 2014-15 budget year KPD officers were arming themselves with their own personal handguns. Council approved a budget that year that equipped each officer with a KPD-issued firearm. Other items purchased for the department in recent budgets include riot shields; non-lethal ammunition, such as bean bag rounds; and handheld radios, Barnett said. In Buda, surveys comparing the police department’s staffing to that of similar-sized cities have in the past highlighted a void in the department’s administrative personnel, Kidd said. He said sergeants were spending less time on patrol because of record-keeping and other clerical duties they had to fulfill. “With the captain position and the clerk we are going to be able to take a lot of those administrative duties off of the patrol sergeants and let them go back to being working sergeants on the street, where they should be,” Kidd said. BPD has also recently set a schedule for replacing its police fleet vehicles, Mayor Todd Ruge said.

Departments’ facilities needs

One area in which BPD is set to improve but remains unaddressed for KPD is facilities. In November 2014, Buda voters approved a $55 million bond to build new municipal facilities, including a new home for BPD. The project is in the design phase and is set for completion in 2017. Ruge said the new police headquarters, which will include a station and other law-enforcement facilities, will be a state-of-the-art building, and he expects it to have at least a 20-year lifespan. BPD is currently housed in an 1,800-square-foot building that serves as an annex to City Hall and as the police station. Kidd said it has been challenging to accommodate new employees. The space was redesigned earlier this year specifically to provide space for two new employees to work. Kidd said the lack of space will continue to be an issue until the bond-funded facilities are built. “I am looking forward to getting our men and women some space,” Ruge said. “They’re right on top of each other. They have functioned very well out of that building. I think having a more professional building is going to make them more efficient.” About 20 KPD employees, meanwhile, work in a police dispatch center located at 111 N. Front St. KPD’s main building is a refurbished bank next door to City Hall. Either finding or building a new facility that could house all KPD employees under one roof is among the most pressing issues facing the department, Barnett said. Christie agreed. “They need a building,” she said. “It’s crazy where they’re operating; they need their own home.” However, Webster said he does not think the city is in a position to fund a new facility for the department.