Joplin residents got their first look Tuesday at the proposed 2023 city budget. Council members, city staff, and officials met for the first of three meetings to discuss next year’s city finance.

Two weeks ago, on an emergency basis, the council approved an 11% pay increase for Joplin’s police officers that went into effect this past Saturday. Speaking Tuesday night about budget priorities for the upcoming year, Joplin Chief of Police Sloan Rowland said he would like to add 11 new Police SUVs at a cost of about $54,000 apiece.

“$590,500 for replacement of SUV’s. And that’s 11 additional SUVs. And that’s the Tahoe with the complete equipment package that we’ll purchase to bring us up to a total of 14 vehicles this year.”

Other budget priorities Chief Sloan spoke about are a $33,000 audio/visual package for the department’s interview rooms. In addition to purchasing 13 body cameras at a cost of $26,000. And $7,000 for an air conditioner and heating unit for the department’s K9s.

The proposed 2023 budget for the Joplin police department is $3.5 million. The meetings continue tonight at city hall, starting at 5:45.