OBSERVER Photo by M.J. Stafford Dunkirk Police Chief Chris Witkowski discusses his proposed 2026 budget during a Common Council budget meeting Monday.

Dunkirk’s police and fire chiefs went line by line in the proposed 2026 budget this week to express concerns about cuts.

Police Chief Chris Witkowski and Fire Chief Nick Barter spoke to the Common Council as it resumed its review of Mayor Kate Wdowiasz’s proposed budget.

“I wanted to try to paint the picture as best I can,” said Witkowski, explaining why he was using a slide show to take an in-depth look at police spending. Barter later did a similar slide show for the Dunkirk Fire Department.

Both chiefs were doing their first departmental budget reviews after taking over for Fire Chief Mike Edwards and Police Chief Dave Ortolano, who each retired late last year.

Witkowski offered the first of a slew of spending projections by both chiefs that came in higher than Wdowiasz’s budget. He projected $3,725,605 in personnel expenses for 2026, but Wdowiasz budgeted $3,517,000.

The police chief mentioned the absence of “lineup pay” in the Wdowiasz proposal, and stated the lineup pay is “still being negotiated.” Councilwoman Abby Zatorski commented that it’s in arbitration.

Councilwoman Natalie Luczkowiak asked Witkowski how many officers he thinks he will have to hire in 2026. He replied that there are two open positions already, and two more officers have said they are leaving the department.

Filling the shifts from the two openings, which came up due to retirements, has added to police overtime. Witkowski projected $210,000 in overtime for 2026 — Wdowiasz budgeted just $122,000.

At that point, Councilman James Stoyle asked if Wdowiasz had even worked with Witkowski on the budget. “I gave her my proposal numbers and she came up with her own numbers,” the police chief said.

Smaller budget lines such as repairs and uniform allowance are also underfunded, according to Witkowski’s numbers. He said there is $10,000 in the vehicle repair line — but that would barely cover routine maintenance such as new tires and batteries, brake work and oil changes, which he thinks will all cost about $9,000.

Councilman-at-large Nick Weiser said he appreciated the level of detail Witkowski offered. “I wanted to make sure that the amount of monies we were asking for were justified,” the police chief replied.

The meeting moved to Barter and the Fire Department budget. The fire chief said he needs $2,475,000 for personnel services in 2026, but Wdowiasz budgeted just $1,720,591. A big chunk of the difference comes from Barter accounting for four retirements with insurance cash outs, and hiring of four replacements.

Fire department overtime, in Barter’s telling, is in a similar situation to that of the police — at a high level due to short staffing. Barter said it will be about $300,000 for the year, when $180,000 was budgeted. Wdowiasz initially proposed $150,000 for the overtime line in 2025 and did so again for ’26.

“We haven’t spent $150,000 (or less) in overtime since 2010,” Barter said.

The fire chief went on to say he also needs more money in the equipment, training, and repair/maintenance lines.

Monday’s budget meeting had just nine people: all five Common Councilors, the chiefs, Fiscal Affairs Officer Ellen Luczkowiak, and the OBSERVER. The meeting closed with the OBSERVER being asked to leave because Weiser asked for and received an executive session to discuss personnel matters.