Voters approved $350 million for law enforcement. A plan is created as to how the money should be spent

Thanks to voters in 2024, Colorado law enforcement will have $350 million in federal funding available. As they face problems recruiting and retaining employees, these agencies want to know when the money will start flowing and how it will be distributed.

State lawmakers unveiled their plans Wednesday at an open house at the Denver Police Department’s police academy. Representatives from the State Patrol and other metro area departments were in attendance. State Senator Barbara Kirkmeyer. A Republican who sits on the powerful Joint Budget Committee attended, along with Republican Rep. Jarvis Caldwell and Democratic Rep. Chad Clifford.

“It’s really not about defunding the police, but rather about defending and supporting our law enforcement agencies across the state,” Kirkmeyer said. “And let’s make sure we support not only our law enforcement and the work you do for us, but also your families.”

Voters approved Proposition 130 in last year’s election. It directs lawmakers to send an additional $350 million to local law enforcement agencies on top of existing grants and programs. The proposal included a $1 million death benefit for families of officers killed in the line of duty.

In addition, the funds must be used for:

• Increased salary
• Hiring, recruiting and retention bonuses
• Hiring additional officers to target specific geographic areas of crime types
• Training to deal with violence, restraint and physical fitness

But the wording of the proposal did not provide details about how the money would be distributed or how quickly lawmakers must begin distributing it.

Kirkmeyer said she expects the $350 million to be distributed at $35 million a year over a decade, with a new committee made up of local government and law enforcement officials overseeing its use.

She also made clear that these would be direct disbursements, not grants, and that the money would not replace existing local and state funding for law enforcement.

“It’s really about helping you retain and recruit your law enforcement and then be able to have the resources you need for training. So that’s our goal,” Kirkmeyer said.

Tony Gorman/CPR News

The new law enforcement spending comes as lawmakers face nearly $700 million in savings in the budget for the next fiscal year, which begins July 1. Clifford hopes they don’t have to cut anything, but admits the state budget is out of whack right now.

“We will have to make cuts in many areas to maintain the overall budget. And that’s another part of it,” Clifford said. “Somewhere something is being cut, although not necessarily just for this piece.”

Clifford, who has experience in law enforcement, opposed Prop. 130 when it was on the ballot; feared that it would be fiscally irresponsible to require the state to spend this amount. But he also agrees with voters that the money is needed.

“It makes little sense to take $350 million from the state budget and give it to a local government for something we normally fund through local governments,” Clifford said. At the same time, “our ability to recruit and train law enforcement has diminished, and nearly every agency in the state is experiencing situations where they are understaffed or struggling to retain officers.”

Nationally, law enforcement agencies have struggled with staffing in recent years. The Denver Police Department is authorized to employ up to 1,639 officers. But in 2020, DPD saw an increase in turnover as 111 more officers than expected left the force. Rick Kyle, head of the DPD Investigations Department, cited numerous reasons for the unexpectedly high fluctuation.

“About 25 to 30 years ago we had a large number of new hires and people are now reaching retirement age. It’s a very demanding job. The job has dangers, risks and is very stressful,” said Kyle. “There were a lot of frustrations back then. There was obviously the pandemic. There have been a large number of protests and riots which have caused a lot more stress than we normally see and normally it is a stressful job.”

DPD wants to be fully operational again by 2028. They expect that more than 500 civil servants will leave the company during this period, which corresponds to an annual turnover rate of almost 8 percent. Therefore, they need to hire 632 officers to meet their staffing target.

The Colorado State Patrol has a more difficult job as a statewide agency. Capt. Rocco Dominico of the CSP Academy said the funding would help address areas where it is difficult to recruit and retain Soldiers, a problem common in both rural parts of the state and areas with high costs of living consists.

“We have a lot of areas in the state of Colorado that are a little more difficult to keep,” Dominco said. This funding “would help us recruit in some areas where there may be a little more pressure.

Kirkmeyer said she is pushing for Prop. 130 funding to be introduced as a Joint Budget Committee bill with bipartisan support because it involves budget issues.

The death benefit obligation already applies. It began immediately after the passage of Prop. 130 on November 5th. Families of fallen officers already received 70 percent of those officers’ salaries. Prop. 130 adds an additional $1 million. Gov. Jared Polis recently asked state lawmakers to retroactively extend the benefit to the family of Golden police officer Evan Dunn, who was killed by a drunk driver the day after the election.