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Board questions spike in wildfire staffing costs, asks for clearer budget breakdowns
Summary
Trustees pressed staff for details after the draft budget showed increased allocations for wildland-fire positions and higher central cost allocations; staff said wildfire personnel costs and a new cost-allocation model raise OSMP contributions in 2025'027 and across a six-year projection.
Trustees on the Open Space Board of Trustees spent part of their Sept. 10 meeting probing budget increases that will affect Open Space & Mountain Parks operations, focusing on higher allocations for wildland-fire positions and a rising share of central cost-allocation charges.
Board member Brady asked how much wildfire spending rose and requested clearer, department-level comparisons so the board and the public can track changes from the previously adopted budget. "If we approve a budget and then it gets changed, it'd just be nice to know exactly what happened," he said.
What staff said
Staff explained that a new cost-allocation methodology is being phased in and that OSMP's share of central-service charges rises in the near term because transitional funds were not available to smooth the change. In the meeting staff described a stepped increase designed to meet a target allocation by 2027; they said the adjustments increase OSMP's contribution in 2025 and 2026 before stabilizing in 2027.
On wildfire-specific costs staff said the department is paying a growing share of the expense for wildland-fire positions and that the dollar impact is material in the near term. Staff cited a multiyear, six-year projection that includes both cost-allocation changes and wildfire personnel funding and said that combined effect is about $2.5 million over six years. During the discussion staff used rounded figures when speaking extemporaneously: they observed that recent adjustments raised wildfire and central-cost allocation amounts by several hundred thousand dollars in the current and next year and that the change is visible in modified 2025 and 2026 budgets presented to council.
Board concern about transparency and usability
Trustees urged staff to make the budget materials easier to use and understand. Several members said the cost-allocation documentation is lengthy and technical; one trustee described the city's cost-allocation model document as a large, dense manual that the public and volunteer board members have trouble digesting. Trustees suggested staff provide simplified, department-level metrics and a clear year-over-year comparison that highlights what changed and why.
Other budget points
Trustees also requested more detail about the projected increases in later years of the six-year forecast and asked whether changes to internal-service modeling were driving the largest increases. Staff said they would follow up with more granular explanations and would coordinate with the city finance teams to produce readable summaries for boards and the public.
Ending
Trustees praised staff members who have reviewed the budget and encouraged a future retreat or workshop topic to cover budget transparency and simplified metrics. Staff agreed to provide more detailed breakdowns and to follow up by email on specific questions about year-over-year percentage changes.
