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Saco council discusses formal policy and fund to cover overtime for nonprofit special events
Summary
City staff and councilors debated creating a standing budget or fund to pay overtime for police, fire and public works at roughly 23 annual special events, with a return to council planned after staff and departments compile costs and a draft policy.
Saco city leaders on Monday debated whether the city should create a standing fund and a formal policy to cover overtime costs for nonprofit special events, noting the current approach leaves department overtime charges absorbed within departmental budgets.
The issue affects municipal budgets and staffing: councilors argued a clear policy would avoid perceived favoritism, reduce administrative burden on departments and allow the council to decide which events the city supports financially.
Chief Clements told council there are about 23 special events annually in Saco; some require multiple departments to provide services and work that often creates overtime charges. “In the past, depending on…we either charge, don't charge, partially charge for overtime or detail pay, which means that city departments are absorbing, all or partial financial burden, which comes out of our overtime line,” Clements said.
Councilor Johnston and others said the lack of a consistent policy has created perceptions of unfairness and encouraged events to move to Saco because of unclear charges. “You create this atmosphere of…perception of favoritism,” Johnston said, urging a defined policy and the idea of carving an annual budget or special fund for supported events.
Councilors explored multiple models: creating a dedicated municipal fund to pay overtime for council‑approved events; carving out funds from departmental budgets currently absorbing the costs; adopting a tiered policy by projected attendees; or requiring partial cost‑sharing with event organizers. Councilor Berman suggested the council could maintain a list each year of events it would underwrite from a special fund and allow other events to petition for support.
Practical concerns featured throughout the discussion: officials noted staff retention and burnout from frequent overtime, the administrative load of frequent FOAA requests for event records, and the difficulty of recruiting employees to work repeated weekend details. Councilor Johnston added that some events rely on volunteer or civic groups (Rotary, etc.) and that a funding carve‑out could be considered for longstanding civic events.
City Administrator Berhanco said staff will inventory past events, calculate historical overtime and related costs with police, fire and public works, and return with a draft policy and funding options—likely for next fiscal year. He said any fund or policy would need a flexible adjudication process for gray‑area requests and that staff could work with traffic safety and finance committees to develop criteria.
Councilors also discussed revenue offsets—like vendor, artist or food‑truck fees—and contracting private security for some events as possible cost mitigations. Staff noted an existing tiered framework developed during the COVID period based on projected attendance could serve as a starting point.
No formal policy or budget transfer was adopted at the meeting; staff were directed to compile costs, propose a funding mechanism and present a draft policy for council consideration.
