A Youngstown City Councilman has proposed $15,000 for a bomb sniffing K9 officer for the Youngstown Police Department.

Fifth Ward Councilman Patrick Kelly is proposing that $15,000 in ARP funds goes to the purchase and training of a bomb sniffing K9 for YPD. 

Kelly tells 21 News the idea came about when speaking to a school resource officer at Choffin Career and Technical Center who is also a bomb tech at YPD.

The officer had asked about the possibility for a bomb sniffing dog for the department. From there, Kelly got the approval from city officials to allocate $15,000 in ARP funds for the dog.

Kelly tells us the addition of a bomb sniffing dog would make security for events such as large scale concerts at the Covelli Centre or amphitheatre, as well as sporting events such as YSU football games much easier since the department would not have to use a dog from another agency from out of town.

Council will vote to approve of this allocation at their next meeting on Wednesday, March 6.

At this point it's unclear if any other local departments will be able to utilize the dog if this allocation is approved by council.