Cobb County commissioners last night approved a new budget, one that sets in motion major plans for beefing up the county’s ailing police department.

“We’re losing officers left and right,” said County Commissioner Bob Ott before Tuesday night’s vote. “We have to stop that.”

In fact, Lance LoRusso, attorney for the local Fraternal Order of Police Lodge, said between February and July, 24 officers had left the Cobb County Police Department – some for better pay and benefits at other departments.

Police Chief John Houser and members of the Fraternal Order of Police said they are happy with the plan to stop the county from bleeding blue.

“We do think it’s a big change,” he told WSB’s Pete Combs after the vote. “I have seen the commitment to provide additional officers, additional pay for shift differential and rewards for education.”

The new budget for fiscal 2015 sets the stage for the county to hire 232 new officers by January 2017 and provide them with 230 new police cars which they will be able to take home at the end of their shifts. That is a major benefit for the officers and, they argue, a high-visibility benefit for the people who live in their neighborhoods.

It will be up to voters in November to approve a Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax (SPLOST) that will provide funding for capital improvements like a new police headquarters and a new officer training facility. Both current buildings are sorely outdated, according to police and county officials.

But Commissioner Ott worries that the budget approved Tuesday night is not enough to retain veteran officers he says have gone too long with too little.

“It’s fine to say that by… 2018, we’ll hire 277 new officers. But that means we’re going to have lost a whole bunch between now and then. My concern is that we have to do something today to keep those officers,” he told WSB’s Pete Combs.

The current budget plan does not do that. It is the first step in what Ott said is a three-year plan to increase hiring and retention. It will be up to county commissioners – now and in the future, he said – to maintain that commitment.