[{"_1":2,"_88":-5,"_89":-5},"loaderData",{"_3":4,"_26":27},"root",{"_5":6,"_17":10,"_18":19,"_20":21,"_22":10,"_23":-5,"_24":-5,"_25":10},"user",{"_7":8,"_9":10,"_11":10,"_12":-5,"_13":-5,"_14":15,"_16":-5},"roles",[],"isAuthenticated",false,"isPremium","planName","subscriptionStatus","featureFlags",{},"insightsBudget","isDevelopmentHost","userPreferences",{},"recaptchaSiteKey","6LcvOJcUAAAAAHsB-gPGfGktcRlKpH7OTIU_dMTD","isImpersonating","impersonation","affiliateStatus","isFreedomPortal","routes/v2/article/layout",{"_28":29,"_30":31},"notFound",true,"relatedArticles",[32,76],{"_33":34,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":40,"_41":42,"_43":44,"_45":46,"_47":48,"_49":50,"_51":52,"_53":54,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":60,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":66,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":72,"_73":74,"_75":74},"mediaId",6185205,"mediaKeyId","5082750-0efaabae602fbce9b1dc3165e7a4941c","parentId",5082750,"title","Milford staff outline FY26 departmental budget changes, equipment replacement plan and CIP shifts","audioSeconds",1842,"startMs",347000,"endMs",2189000,"viewUrl","/Search/View?dp=1&key=5082750-0efaabae602fbce9b1dc3165e7a4941c&start=347&end=2189","thumbnailUrl","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/5082750-0efaabae602fbce9b1dc3165e7a4941c/thumbnail_347000.jpg","articleUrl","/articles/6185205/Delaware/Milford-staff-outline-FY26-departmental-budget-changes-equipment-replacement-plan-and-CIP-shifts","mediaUrl","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6185205-7ffa6a3686da9aa931ca230605ceb510/orig.mp4?Expires=1770515614&Signature=nDu6RXd8V3C5VcLxOz6mGCQnhiVWzod4oy4WiqsFpO8HrxI5BU8i6Kr1eGPwDahJq3atVTg2zvp4pJ-WTadVslRj2RBKzltb7JKIoCuw7XxL2VcDMGvyedawxCAO5vG-cX74qXOvxozxNhoBXpH6mqPO37wFbRwykY46LPYtVCi8OmknooeygH1efmbBsT2DXo1klfASu4uEvjw4zZhFqsH-9W5L7OjDB638kVKztXDRBec09TtZMZ70coj0iTJi26touP-M1Ot5FzRjpzjbJOzyfEbyt8el1LZtUYWUGrq6s88EE8tGpHDRlok99G5DA-B9AGAlCjBiZtaOgjrRIQ__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","author","City Council of Milford DE","date","2025-06-05T00:00:00Z","article","Milford staff told the council during the FY26 budget workshop that most operating personnel lines will remain flat while several funds face higher operation-and-maintenance costs driven by contracts, wholesale power forecasts and equipment replacements.

Public Works: Staff said there are no personnel increases planned for public works but noted higher O&M costs for GIS/CAD software licenses and several service contracts (cleaning, alarm systems, security cameras). Finance director Lou Vitola cautioned that while costs will continue to rise \"they will not be at that pace or that rate,\" and explained part of the apparent increase reflects budgeting versus the year's projection.

Electric: The electric fund shows the largest single O&M driver: a roughly $3,000,000 increase tied to forecasted wholesale power and cost-of-service changes provided by the regional supplier (DMACC). The electric presenter said an administrative reclassification (from the arborist position) will add headcount but have limited fiscal impact; wholesale price variability driven by PJM/FERC activity remains an uncertain factor.

Water and Wastewater: Staff proposed reestablishing a water and sewer supervisor role (to replace a vacant operations supervisor). O&M increases reflect contractual work and supplies required for water treatment. Staff said some prior-year \"savings\" reflect a lower-than-expected number of emergency repairs and that the city budgets conservatively for a worse-than-average year.

Solid waste: The department is seeking to hire a refuse driver effective Oct. 1 to address workload identified in a recent study.

Equipment replacement and fleet: Council heard a long discussion about vehicle and equipment replacement priorities and the city's equipment reserve process. Staff said they use a mix of mileage and engine hours to judge replacement timing: police pursuit vehicles are considered for replacement at about 100,000 miles and bucket trucks and specialty equipment are evaluated by hours and safety testing.

Examples discussed in council: a police vehicle needing a transmission replacement (estimated ~$10,000), a dump truck with a transmission issue (~$15,000) and a bucket truck with a two-year-plus lead time and prior dielectric testing failures. Council members and staff praised the vehicle reserve process as making replacements more predictable'and safer for crews.

Capital Improvement Plan (CIP): The manager and staff described changes that defer or rebucket more than $5 million of public-works and general-fund projects into fiscal 2027 to preserve reserve policy balances. The finance director said utility funds (except solid waste) are generally in stronger positions to fund capital. Specific notes: Masten Pond must be funded in FY26 (engineering and approvals required); a pond and basketball-court drainage project may be rebucketed to FY27 depending on permitting and schedule; sidewalk replacement funding was reduced in the FY26 draft because of prior-year carryover funds that staff expect will cover FY26 needs.

Council asked departments to provide more detailed operating statistics and vehicle-hours/mileage for the larger items on the replacement list; staff said they will supply those figures before final budget adoption. No ordinances or purchase authorizations were approved at the workshop.

Ending: Staff will upload updated budget tables and vehicle statistics; the council scheduled a follow-up workshop (June 16) to review updated CIP and equipment-replacement details and to finalize the FY26 budget.","mediaType","Video","parentTitle","City Council Budget Review - June 05, 2025","oneSentenceSummary","City staff reviewed departmental FY26 budget highlights — public works, electric, water/wastewater, streets and solid waste — and presented an equipment replacement schedule and capital improvements revisions that defer more than $5 million in projects to preserve reserves.","taxTitle","Milford, Sussex County, Delaware","taxId",79595,"location","Delaware","headline","","shortSummary",{"_33":77,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":78,"_41":79,"_43":80,"_45":81,"_47":82,"_49":83,"_51":84,"_53":85,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":86,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":87,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":72,"_73":74,"_75":74},6185211,"Milford council delays budget adoption after heated debate over police pay grades and staffing data",4916,1934000,6850000,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=5082750-0efaabae602fbce9b1dc3165e7a4941c&start=1934&end=6850","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/5082750-0efaabae602fbce9b1dc3165e7a4941c/thumbnail_1934000.jpg","/articles/6185211/Delaware/Milford-council-delays-budget-adoption-after-heated-debate-over-police-pay-grades-and-staffing-data","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6185211-9aff6f17848bb597854cb56c46d8ac75/orig.mp4?Expires=1770515614&Signature=Vi~Q2A68wEHFQx02miWuaXEkJbwfR4xIgZ9Z0Z-LVXDcKoo3O-2x9z5GXuBpIXPQLM1mlFAFPV2w5fWr~l5~8PkevV1VdYObXaGWreHL~oXRXZ8SW9KxU0-gTspchJ7Xey9ZmiDVwcXMjg7tevPf1Au5WTB797HULfGbjgGWVBc95z9rom5Ulp6b9sSBfN-RYq-ppTIzqZU1u9rpIVY2EWPtCStaARPe~lvWRoR-CUZepKkf9~pJxIyqNMdy2Hn0XLliZy8OuJVt0Kh-xKvRpiGr1R8ipI~ikS2sdhNJ1F4nvObbZPGaty2TQQhgy4I-6ebvWESkFgM4PRMGwY0HAw__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","Milford City Council left its fiscal 2026 budget unsettled Monday after a prolonged discussion about pay for police lieutenants and captains, the reliability of a consultant's staffing data and whether the city can fund proposed increases without raising taxes or employee insurance costs.

The council did not adopt the budget and instead directed city departments to \"scrub\" their FY26 requests and return with options to fund the police adjustments. Several council members said they expect staff to start from a \"worst-case\" cost estimate and then trim back if needed rather than assume new taxes or higher employee premiums.

The debate focused on three items: whether to raise police lieutenants' and captains' pay grades to prevent them from \"capping out,\" the accuracy and availability of underlying comparator data from the consultant Evergreen (and related non-disclosure constraints), and how to fund any increase so the rest of the workforce is treated equitably.

Chief Ash, who said the department has been rebuilding and training its sworn leadership, argued the city risks losing senior officers if pay does not keep pace with regional comparators. \"The last thing I want to see is for them to cap out and leave and go to a different organization because there is a massive drop,\" the chief said, adding that retraining staff every few years is \"exhausting.\"

Several council members and the city manager pushed back on aspects of the consultant's memo presented to council. Councilwoman Laurie called the consultant memo \"disappointing. It's embarrassing, and it's unfortunate\" because, she said, it omitted data council expected to see and presented only limited funding scenarios that appeared to rely on raising taxes or employee insurance contributions.

City Manager Mark Whitfield and finance director Lou Vitola said they could present alternate funding options and that the memo provided multiple approaches for council consideration. Jamisha, representing the consultant team, told council the firm would provide the non-aggregate raw data for council review after a release was signed but asked that the raw data not be broadly posted because of antitrust concerns. \"They don't have any issues with counsel reviewing that data individually. They just do not want it posted on any type of platforms or email distribution,\" Jamisha said, citing the Sherman Antitrust Act as the reason for the restriction.

Council members repeatedly said they want a fully transparent, citywide approach rather than what some described as a police-only solution. \"We need to go back through and scrub and make sure that we have done justice for every single person that works for the city, not just the police,\" a council member said. Several members offered that funds could be found by trimming or reprioritizing capital or operating items and asked staff to return with line-by-line options.

Council direction: staff were asked to (a) identify how to fund the proposed police pay adjustments using existing FY26 budget lines and non-recurring reserves rather than broad tax increases or raising employee insurance costs; (b) provide the consultant's non-aggregate comparator data under controlled conditions; and (c) return with firm numbers either for Monday's meeting or at a planned workshop scheduled for June 16 to finalize details.

The council emphasized process safeguards: multiple members said they support public safety but want the pay adjustments to be data-driven, auditable and applied consistently across the workforce. The council did not vote on any ordinance or adopt any pay change at the meeting.

What happens next: the city manager and finance staff will work with department heads and the police chief to produce updated budget options and the requested comparator data. Council scheduled an additional workshop (June 16) and indicated it will not adopt the FY26 budget until it has the requested information.

Ending: Councilmembers repeatedly framed the issue as one of priorities and timing. Several said they prefer to find internal savings and reallocate resources rather than increase taxes, and all asked for clearer, auditable data to support any structural pay changes for sworn police ranks.","Milford City Council paused final action on the FY26 budget after weeks of debate over proposed pay-grade changes for police lieutenants and captains, disputed benchmarking data from a consultant, and council direction to departments to find funding without raising employee insurance costs or broadly increasing taxes.","actionData","errors"]

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Milford staff outline FY26 departmental budget changes, equipment replacement plan and CIP shifts

Milford council delays budget adoption after heated debate over police pay grades and staffing data