Chief Mike Szczerba says the Community Oriented Policing Services program approved the city's request. He says the grant would help more than previous grants because city budget woes originally meant the grant would have been used to pay for rehiring officers it planned to lay off.
Now, because city officers agreed not to receive pay raises, the money will pay for hiring 16 new officers.
If the City Council approves the proposal, the new officers' training will begin in March. They would be assigned to patrol units toward the end of the summer.
