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Council questions big increases in police and fire overtime, hears long‑term facility plan
Summary
Council members pressed staff for reasons behind higher police and fire salary and overtime projections and discussed long‑term plans to centralize public‑safety facilities at the St. Mary’s site and possible police substations.
Council members on Thursday scrutinized proposed increases in police and fire personnel costs in the FY 2025–26 draft budget, questioning why regular earnings and overtime lines rose even where departments reported staffing was near full strength.
Police budget: Councilors noted the police department’s “regular earnings” line rose from roughly $11 million in earlier years to a $13,000,650 figure in the draft budget; staff said the updated amount reflects more complete contract and payroll data and improved estimates for overtime. Council member questioned the proposed $1,200,000 overtime line and asked why overtime historically exceeded prior budgets; finance staff said they would provide more precise estimates ahead of adoption and pledged closer alignment with actuals.
Fire budget and response staffing: Councilors flagged the fire department’s overtime request of $1,000,000, saying the department is largely fully staffed and should better manage within base salaries. Fire and finance staff said some overtime reflects operational requirements and surge/incident coverage, but council directed staff to document drivers of overtime and to explain recovery or reimbursement possibilities for disaster responses.
Facilities and long‑term plan: Staff outlined a long‑term plan to centralize police and fire services at the former St. Mary’s hospital site (an 18‑acre tract), including a proposed safety and security complex. Councilors also discussed earlier plans for police substations (including one near BJ’s site) and smaller precincts or joint facilities to improve response times. Staff said project planning and possible capital requests would follow after design and funding decisions.
Ending: Finance and department staff agreed to return with more detailed payroll and overtime reconciliations, and to provide cost estimates and timelines for the St. Mary’s‑site planning work and proposed substations.
