Fiscal Note
This program will be administered in a manner similar to the handgun purchase program. The City will purchase the rifles and be reimbursed by the commissioned employees through payroll deductions. The initial purchase will cost about $100,000. There is sufficient funding in the General Fund balance for this program.
Title
Establishing a voluntary rifle purchase program that would allow commissioned employees to voluntarily purchase department-approved rifles for on-duty use, utilize the department's bulk purchasing power to order the rifles, and establish a two (2) year repayment mechanism by which the cost of the rifle would be recovered through fifty-two (52) equal deductions taken from the employee's paycheck.
Body
WHEREAS, the Madison Police Department currently owns one hundred forty-two (142) AR-15 rifles, with twenty-one (21) assigned to the training team and one hundred twenty-one (121) assigned to patrol; and
WHEREAS, the Department assigns the patrol rifles on a shared basis within patrol operations by installing rifles in all "patrol ready" fleet vehicles; and
WHEREAS, before being deployed into fleet vehicles, these rifles are sighted by a precision marksman, resulting in a well-sighted rifle, that does not account for the many variables associated with firing a shoulder-mounted weapon (e.g., facial configuration, arm length, etc.); and
WHEREAS, because these variables may affect the accuracy of the universally sighted rifles, the Department has determined that it should transition to personally assigned rifles; and
WHEREAS, the Department surveyed its commissioned personnel and determined that - should such an opportunity exist, fifty-nine (59) officers were prepared to purchase their own rifles and forty-six (46) officers would strongly consider the opportunity, and
WHEREAS, the Department currently utilizes a similar paycheck deduction system for the purchase of an officer's Glock handgun whereby the Department purchases the weapon on behalf of the recruit officer and then recovers the cost of the handgun through twenty-six (26) equal deductions from the employee's paycheck;
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that a voluntary rifle purchase program is established to allow commissioned employees an opportunity to voluntarily purchase department-approved rifles for on-duty use; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Department will purchase the rifles through its bulk purchasing authority and recover the cost of the rifles through fifty-two (52) equal deductions taken from the employee's paycheck.