The Madison Common Council approved a proposal to hire more police officers Tuesday night, after shooting down a similar measure earlier in the meeting.

The amendment to add three police officers passed in a vote. It would transfer Planning Division funds from the capital budget to pay for those full-time salaries.

The vote came after another amendment asking to hire six new police officers failed. This proposal would have cut expenses elsewhere in the department, according to online city records.

According to the department, overtime costs next year are expected to be 68 percent higher than ten years before. That translates into about $3.7 million dollars in overtime.

Former Chief Mike Koval resigned earlier this year. At the time he said in an

that one of the reasons he decided to quit the force was because of a lack of police officers.

Interim Chief Victor Wahl has echoed the former chief’s comment, saying that major events on Halloween and Fourth of July led to more overtime.