AMARILLO, TEXAS -- Amarillo City Officials will start their budget workshops on Tuesday morning, which gives city leaders an idea of what they can expect as they start trying to target a new budget for Amarillo.

Pronews 7 spoke with a couple commissioners Monday to find out what's on their wish list and how taxes may be affected, beginning with expansion of emergency type personnel.

Back in March, we told you about possible plans to increase the number of police officers in the city with safety being the top priority. City leaders are looking at expanding the number of police by an even dozen, (three per shift in a 24 hour period) along with upping the number of firefighters as well.

"Certainly add some police and prepare for future firefighters growth, cause remember, when we build fire station, we train them to go into the station under construction so to speak. So we're going to address both those areas," said City Commissioner Jim Simms.

We spoke by phone with Commissioner Ellen Robertson Green who agrees with Simms...saying that the amount the city gets from property taxes doesn't even cover expenses at the P.D.

Which brings up the inevitable question on every homeowner's mind...taxes. And how much they would increase with the increase in emergency personnel.

"That would call for a very slight and I mean very slight, less than two-one-hundreths of a cent.  That's so small, two-one-hundreths of a cent on a $100,000 dollar home, if I do my math correctly, that's about two bucks. A year. Come on!"

Simms says the amount of a dollar or two per year is a very small trade off for the peace of mind that comes with the additional increase in safety.