The Madison Police Department has begun plans to expand its facilities as the city grows and incorporates more territory and population.

MPD spokesperson Joel DeSpain said new facilities are needed to maintain an effective police presence in the city’s West and South Districts.

“Both facilities are at capacity as far as the number of officers they can house,” DeSpain said.

He said much development, particularly residential, is planned for the city’s West District in coming years. Additionally, the City of Madison has plans to annex the Town of Madison in the near future. That annexation would include part of the South District, he said.

Ald. Scott Resnick, District 8, said the annexation is scheduled to happen in 2022, after several decades of debate over boundaries. This would give the city of Madison administrative control over facilities like the fire department, police department, trash pickup, utility work and others.

DeSpain said as the city continues to grow out, coupled with the annexation of the Town of Madison, there is the need for additional police service to those districts.

City Council President Shiva Bidar-Sielaff said in an email to The Badger Herald the project proposal is still in its initial stages, and nothing will likely happen with the project for the next two to three years.

“I can say that it is clear to me that we will need an additional police district because there is no doubt that the current West district is too large,” Bidar-Sielaff said.

Ald. Matt Phair, District 20, said there is good reason for MPD to feel the West District is too large. He said the population of the current West District is equivalent to the fifth-largest city in Wisconsin.

He said he is in favor of MPD’s proposal to create a new police district but is not sure when the city could incorporate the idea into its plans.

“This isn’t proposed now or even in next year’s budget,” Phair said. “I think MPD is just letting the public know. We have tough decisions to make in the next year, and this won’t necessarily be a priority at the moment.”

Phair said the potential district would be called the Midtown District and would serve the southwest side of Madison. This would provide six districts instead of five for the city. He said the project could become a reality within the next five years.

DeSpain said there is not yet a timeline or a cost estimate for the project, and MPD must continue to gauge the ways in which the city is expanding.

He said MPD used to be centrally oriented with all officers reporting to the Central District, but they found it was better to be decentralized and to station officers in the different districts.

“The officers serve the areas of their district station, but we also have neighborhood officers and community police teams,” DeSpain said. “This way, officers become part of the community. The city’s grown a lot and it’s not feasible if we want to continue to build up trust with those communities.”