Fire staffing and overtime dominated a large portion of the Aug. 14 budget workshop discussion as staff balanced higher salary lines, proposed part‑time hires and overtime controls.
Payroll mechanics and overtime drivers: Chief Burnside and finance staff explained that the fire schedule and state scheduling practices produce mandatory overtime. "Right now, you have 240 hours per employee that is being paid out in mandatory overtime," the chief said, noting that roughly $103,000 of the line item is mandatory overtime tied to scheduling rules and shift structures. Staff described prior spending patterns and said that increased part‑time staffing (budgeted at 10 part‑time positions in the packet at roughly $10,000 each) is intended to reduce premium overtime for full‑time employees.
Cost and budget movements: Staff said they increased the overtime contingency in the draft budget from $130,000 to $135,000 because year‑to‑date spending already exceeded last year’s budget and unplanned leave and vacancies drove higher overtime. The chief projected that if he fills vacancies and successfully uses part‑timers, actual overtime spending should be below the proposed $135,000; however, he warned that extended leaves, resignations or recruitment gaps could raise costs.
Incentive pay changes: The chief proposed cleaning up and modernizing the department’s incentive‑pay schedule (certifications and education pay). He provided the council copies of the current incentive‑pay appendix and a proposed revision for the fire department only; staff estimated the change would increase the incentive‑pay projection by roughly $8,000 in order to cover likely certification progressions. Staff noted the fiscal effect would be modest relative to overall personnel costs and that grant funding sometimes covers training that leads to new certifications.
Council concerns and next steps: Council members sought clarity on why part‑time and overtime numbers were both rising in the draft. Staff explained part‑time budgets create capacity and are not fully spent for all hires, but complete elimination of overtime requires a separate change to pay cycles or schedules that can only be implemented after further analysis and potentially an ordinance. Staff recommended bringing a TMRS administrator and scheduling/pay‑cycle options to future workshops. No formal staffing policy or pay‑cycle change was adopted Aug. 14.
Ending: Staff will return with more detailed modeling of how part‑time hires, pay‑cycle changes and incentive‑pay revisions together affect the overtime projection before the budget is finalized.