COEUR d'ALENE - In 2014, traffic-related incidents comprised 10 percent of more than 40,000 calls taken by the Coeur d'Alene Police Department.

On Tuesday, Coeur d'Alene Police Chief Lee White will ask the city council for approval to apply for a grant that would allow the department to hire a new traffic officer. The three-year grant is being offered by the Idaho Office of Highway Safety, a branch of the transportation department, which focuses its efforts on promoting safety on the state's roads.

"There is a greater demand than ever for police service and this partial funding source will assist us in keeping the public safe," White wrote in his report to the city council. "This new position in the traffic section will enhance our traffic safety program by focusing on traffic safety education, DUI enforcement, traffic enforcement in high-crash areas, and school zone safety."

If the department receives the funds, White wrote, it would pay 75 percent of a traffic officer's salary. The funds would annually decrease by 25 percent for the grant's duration.

That amounts to a total of $133,294 in wages and benefit reimbursement if the grant request is approved, he wrote. In addition to the wages and benefits, White reported that his department would also request reimbursement for a portion of the equipment required to outfit the new officer.

"Although this grant will not completely cover our fiscal responsibility for the additional officer, the department maintains that additional staffing is needed to accomplish our public safety goals and this is a fiscally responsible way of achieving those goals," White wrote.