Council directs mayor to be notified about overtime; resolution to be drafted and tabled to next meeting

Pryor Creek’s City Council instructed department heads to notify the mayor as soon as practical when they expect to incur overtime and directed staff to draft a short resolution formalizing the process. Council members emphasized the policy should not require waking the mayor in the middle of the night for routine incidents but should provide timely awareness of significant encumbrances to help manage the general fund.

The council debated operational realities: police and fire departments operate 24/7 and will continue to handle emergency overtime without prior approval, but the mayor requested notification when overtime is expected to materially affect budgets. Police and public‑safety staff described multiple causes of overtime, including events, staffing shortages and special details; the council discussed using time‑clock codes to track overtime by category, including school resource officer (SRO) overtime, which the council said is partially reimbursed by the school district.

Rather than adopting an immediate formal ordinance, the council voted to have staff implement the notification process and draft a resolution for formal consideration at the next meeting. The mayor said the process would be implemented promptly and staff would prepare language for council review.