LYNCHBURG (WSLS 10) - The Lynchburg Police Department says it is currently struggling with a lack of adequate facilities.
City Manager Bonnie Svercek has proposed two different tax increases which would go in part, toward providing a new headquarters for the department.
The biggest concern is an old church that was renovated 20 years ago to operate as part of the department.
The building is more than 100 years old.
Now, part of it is condemned, and the parts that aren't are badly overcrowded.
Maj. Ryan Zuidema toured the facility Tuesday, which started at the evidence rooms in an unfinished basement.
"You would see water damage on the wall where water floods into their evidence area when they're trying to process things," said Zuidema.
The tour continued into the condemned church, where Zuidema said the ceilings are a concern.
"You don't want to be standing underneath that when another chunk of plaster gives way," said Zuidema.
On the other side of the building, Zuidema pointed out where some staff keep their equipment in a loud utility room.
"We don't have enough space or room, so there's four lockers there that our wildlife management specialists use to store some of their equipment," said Zuidema.
He said after 20 years, he's hoping the city will invest in a change.
"It's a morale issue. we have officers working in buildings that are certainly subpar and that don't exactly motivate folks when they get into work this morning," said Zuidema.
City Manager Bonnie Svercek said when she saw the offices, she immediately understood.
"When they get a request from Girl Scouts or Boy Scouts, or from grade schools to do a tour of our police department, we're embarrassed. We're embarrassed, we don't want to do it," said Svercek.
Svercek has proposed a 5-cent increase to the real estate tax and a 2-percent increase to the lodging tax which she said could go in part to a new headquarters.
"The funds that those two proposed taxes would generate are allocated totally to maintaining our existing infrastructure and to take care of replacement of buildings like the police department," said Svercek.
Zuidema hopes the tax increases are approved, because as it stands now, he said the city is wasting money on the current facility.
"There are a lot of things such as body cameras that the city was kind enough to invest a significant amount of money into for our officers to have for our safety and the safety of the citizens, and the reality is those are being stored in a hallway on a wall," said Zuidema.
"Our law enforcement staff deserve better than what they have today, and this city deserves better," said Svercek.
Svercek says a new headquarters would cost around $40 million and could potentially be located at the former site of the Greater Lynchburg Transit Authority on 12th Street.
She says the money generated for the taxes would be enough to put a down payment for the project, and construction over the next four years would be funded through long-term debt.