HOUSTON – One thing that city officials seem to agree on is that the city needs more police.

On Wednesday, they took a step toward getting those officers. But the biggest issue boils down to money.

The mayor said Houston police are currently working with about 5,100 police officers -- a number that he and others feels is far too small for a city of more than 2 million people.

Another issue, according to the police chief, is the giant area police have to cover.

Police are currently responsible for patrolling about 640 square miles.

Police Chief Art Acevedo said the amount of ground that needs to be covered makes it difficult to respond to calls quickly, even on days when the police department is fully staffed.

On Wednesday, Mayor Sylvester Turner, the Houston Police Officers Union and city council members gathered to announce their pledge to hire 500 more officers.

New officers would go through training before serving on patrol.

As the officers gain more experience, some would end up overseeing investigations, which the department hopes will help with a major backlog of cases.

But the city has yet to figure out how to pay for those extra officers.

"Members of city council and others are going to have to make some tough decisions, because I want to tell you, the budget we are facing this year -- the members of city council are going to have to vote on fairly soon it started off being $130 million short," Turner said.

"There is no question that we do not have enough police officers to cover and patrol and protect all the people in this city and the people that are coming into this city each and every day," he said.

"Help us help you get the resources we need, because it's only going to get worse. It isn't going to get better. The city is going to continue to grow," Acevedo said.

The mayor wouldn't say how the city could end up paying for the additional officers.

He said it was a conversation that city council members would have to have in each of their districts and that it would be difficult, considering the city's current budget crisis.