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Council hears rising public-safety personnel and pension costs; staff flags health-insurance and actuarial pressures
Summary
Staff warned of growing public-safety personnel costs and pension obligations in the 2025-26 budget draft, including an offer to the police bargaining unit and increased firefighter pension contributions tied to actuarial changes; council discussed retention, staffing and budget implications.
Village Manager Jeremy Allen summarized major recurring budget pressures tied to public safety and personnel costs. Allen said staff used a 12% placeholder for health-insurance increases and that an offer to the police bargaining unit would increase budgeted costs by roughly $280,000. "Police officer salaries, we have an offer to the PBA of 13. That's a $280,000 increase to the budget," Allen said. He also referenced firefighter salary increases and pension funding changes driven by actuarial assumptions. (Village Manager Jeremy Allen)
Allen and Jeff (finance staff) told council that public-safety pension actuarial adjustments, including mortality assumptions and a lower assumed rate of return, will likely require higher employer contributions in future years. "We will have to contribute more into that pension plan to make sure it stays healthy and funded," Allen said.
Staff also proposed adding one police officer to restore full shift staffing; Allen said adding the officer would move the village closer to national staffing averages for municipalities of its size. Council members discussed recruitment and retention concerns and the trade-offs of adding recurring personnel costs when long-term revenue projections are flat.
Ending: Council did not take formal action on labor offers or personnel additions at the workshop; staff flagged pension and insurance numbers as items to finalize before the July budget decisions.
