The city council of Crescent City voted unanimously to add more than $2,000 to the Measure S funding for the city’s police department to meet the needed staffing and purchase new duty weapons for all officers.City Manager Eric Weir told the council the change was approved by the Measure S Oversight Committee at the request of Police Chief Richard Griffin.In the staffing level, the department will eliminate a lieutenant’s position to add a fourth sergeant’s position. The change would give the city 24-hour coverage with a sergeant and two patrol officers. Two officers are in the academy right now and should be joining to the department in the coming months.#placement_573654_0_i{width:100%;max-width:550px;margin:0 auto;}var rnd = window.rnd || Math.floor(Math.random()*10e6);var pid573654 = window.pid573654 || rnd;var plc573654 = window.plc573654 || 0;var abkw = window.abkw || '';var absrc = 'https://ads.empowerlocal.co/adserve/;ID=181918;size=0x0;setID=573654;type=js;sw='+screen.width+';sh='+screen.height+';spr='+window.devicePixelRatio+';kw='+abkw+';pid='+pid573654+';place='+(plc573654++)+';rnd='+rnd+';click=CLICK_MACRO_PLACEHOLDER';var _absrc = absrc.split("type=js"); absrc = _absrc[0] + 'type=js;referrer=' + encodeURIComponent(document.location.href) + _absrc[1];document.write('');Griffin said removing the lieutenant’s position will give him more work in administration, but he said it is better for the community.“For the public, it’s better if we have another officer on the street,” Griffin said. “I will manage the office for a while. I don’t mind doing that. In going back to a sergeant, it covers all that stuff. We don’t need to be admin heavy, we need to be patrol heavy.”The move will also save the city around $14,000, most of which is set to be used to buy new handguns for the entire department.Griffin said he was at a recent meeting where he asked about supplies for the department’s current Glock Generation 4 .40 caliber guns. He was told upgrading to the Generation 5 gun, a 9mm, would be a better move.“Part of the reason is a supply of ammunition,” Griffin said. “When supply went down, the first supply that went up was a 9mm. There has been a discussion of going away from .40 caliber specifics.”Overall, Griffin said the Generation 5 gun is safer and easier to use for officers.“There is also the discussion of what is the best tool nobody wants to use,” the chief said. “I want what’s best in the position for that officer to use that tool that enhances their ability. If you look a 9 mm, it’s less recoil, so you have a better opportunity for a second shot. We do have a couple of smaller officer, we’re going to have three female officers. If I can help the recoil issue, it gets batter targets down range, although we hope to never use it.”Griffin said having the newest in technology will also pay off in other ways.“It’s also so if we’re looking to attract officers, now I can tell an officer come work for Crescent City Police Department, we have top notch equipment. It is a marketing tool a little bit,” Griffin said.While that may help, Griffin said he asked for the change to protect his officers.“The biggest thing is when officers are in that life and death situation, I want to give them the best chance of saving their lives,” he said.The new guns will cost around $18,000, and the city can recoup about $5,000 by selling the existing weapons, either to the officer currently using it or a licensed dealer.Total cost of duty weapon change just over $13,000. That includes money from selling older weapons to officer or licensed seller. The council voted unanimously to update the Measure S funding, to give the police department the extra funding for the guns. Before the vote, Mayor Pro Tem Isaiah Wright said even with the change, the police are not getting the most money from Measure S.“We’ve spent the most on street repairs,” Wright said. “I would like to point that out. I’ve been driving and seeing signs for street repairs, so we are spending money on that.” The council voted 4-0 for the change, with Mayor Jason Greenough absent. googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('ad-1515727'); });