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Police budget shifts as grant-funded officer slots move to general fund; overtime above budget in 2024
Summary
Committee discussion showed multiple federal and state grants that previously funded Akron police positions have ended or shrunk, transferring roughly millions of dollars in personnel costs to the general fund. Police overtime and grant accounting also drew committee questions.
At the Akron City Council budget and finance committee meeting, staff described how multiple grant programs that once funded police officers have ended or been reduced, shifting personnel costs into the city’s general fund and complicating future grant eligibility.
Why it matters: The change could increase the portion of the general fund devoted to police salaries and affects the city’s ability to claim grant need in future applications. Committee members pressed staff for the size of the funding gap and for clarity on overtime and grant accounting.
What staff told the committee: According to staff, the '25 police budget notes that it includes 25 employees previously funded by grants. Staff explained those positions were funded by multiple grants over time: a COPS hiring grant (which formerly funded 12 officers), one or more ARPA-funded positions and a SACI (sexual assault kit initiative) grant that funded three positions; those grants have since expired or been reduced. On the current version of the COPS hiring assistance, staff said the city now receives reimbursement for 12 officers but at only about 33% of each officer’s cost.
Steve (staff member) provided a high-level estimate of the funding gap and said, “the all in cost on that would be about 3.1” (interpreted in context as about $3,100,000), and later cautioned that was a high-side estimate because some positions are newer and lower-paid. The committee discussed how moving formerly grant-funded positions onto the general-fund budget could make the city appear to be fully staffed to future grantors, potentially making future grant awards harder to obtain.
Overtime and grant accounting: Staff reported police overtime was budgeted at about $4.1 million for the prior year and actual overtime spending was about $5.3 million. Staff explained some overtime is charged to grants and subsequently transferred; that practice can reduce apparent overtime in the general-fund documents. Staff also said some ARPA uses in 2024 shifted operating costs out of the general fund but that the city is not relying on direct ARPA personnel funding in 2025.
Other budget notes: Staff pointed the committee to the police grant fund pages (page 178 in the budget book) showing last year’s grant labor spending versus the smaller grant-funded labor for the coming year. Mobile safety center funding was described as split between police and fire at roughly $165,000 each (about $330,000 total).
What was not specified: Staff did not provide exact contract or line-item dollar amounts for each transferred position on the record beyond the high-level estimate and did not identify which individual officers are affected. Staff warned numbers are approximate given variations in individual salaries and grant reimbursement rules.
Next steps: Committee members asked staff to provide additional details about overtime and grant funding mechanics to aid future deliberations.
