Council approves year-end supplemental appropriations, flags rising fire overtime

The Defiance City Council adopted an ordinance amending ordinance No. 8620 to make supplemental appropriations for the 2025 fiscal period at its Dec. 16 meeting.

City finance staff (Miss Bragg) reviewed supplementals included in the meeting packet and summarized major drivers: health-care premium changes, overtime in public safety (fire), and other personnel-related adjustments. In the presentation staff described a total reappropriation figure presented in the packet and identified three broad sections: health-care, fire, and other funds. The general-fund appropriation total for the supplemental package was cited in staff remarks as $83,450.

Council members focused much of the discussion on rising overtime costs in the fire department. Members and staff discussed training timelines for paramedic certification and a three-year service-commitment and prorated repayment tied to paramedic-school funding. Council cited an overtime total of roughly $300,000 for the year and discussed whether supplemental increases or larger base-line adjustments should be made to avoid repeated supplementals next year; staff said the supplemental reflects costs that were not predictable at budget time.

Staff also noted revenue offsets from township-run payments and from third-party collections (MediCount), which staff said had brought in approximately $850,000 in collections this year. After discussion council moved and adopted the supplemental-appropriations ordinance by roll-call/voice vote.