Groton — The Groton city police budget would rise 3.37 percent and the city highway budget would fall 1.46 percent in the coming fiscal year, under the city mayor’s current budget proposal.  

Mayor Marian Galbraith this week distributed a proposed budget of $4,935,340 for police in the coming year, compared to a current budget of $4,774,277.

But the City Council asked for a lower spending total and Police Chief Thomas Davoren said he would present a new figure on Monday.

“It’s essentially a level budget; there are no new services,” Davoren said. “We’re just trying to keep our existing levels of service.”

Additional spending is needed to cover increases in wages, pension liability and workers’ compensation, he said.

The city police department has 35 employees, including 29 sworn officers. Other employees include dispatchers and clerical staff.

The city’s contract with the police union expired on June 30, 2015, and the city is negotiating a new agreement with the union, Davoren said. The budget must provide some accommodation to cover what the two sides might decide, he said.

The proposed police budget also includes $10,000 to maintain, repair and add lights to the gun range on the Groton Utilities property off Route 1. Lights would allow officers to train in the evenings.

“Two-thirds of our operational day is at night,” Davoren said, adding that the department tries to make training as realistic as possible. Groton Town Police and Groton Long Point Police also use the range.

The proposed highway budget for the city would decline slightly in the coming fiscal year. Galbraith distributed a proposed spending plan of $2,024,788 for highways, down 1.46 percent from the current budget of $2,039,472.

The city and town have argued for years about the city’s funding requests for police and roads.

Last year, town councilors cut the city’s highway funding request almost in half, and city councilors responded by saying they’d explore ways for the city to become financially independent from the town, including secession.

d.straszheim@theday.com

Twitter: @DStraszheim