Buffalo officials weigh charging events a 'true cost' as police overtime tops $868,000

Buffalo City officials discussed plans on Monday to shift how the city bills for police services at special events after the police department said it has borne roughly $868,000 in overtime costs for such details so far this fiscal year.

Police leadership told council that the department currently charges a flat $65-per-hour rate for event details — a fee adopted in 2007 — but that the real per-hour cost including overtime fringe and related expenses is about $114. Commissioners said the department will pursue a change toward billing “true to cost,” while working out the implementation details before the start of the next fiscal year. They flagged a roughly $27,000 unreimbursed expense tied to a recent Sabres event at KeyBank Center as an example of the funding gap.

Council members asked whether the billing change would be applied uniformly across venues or whether some events and operators would be exempt. Several council members suggested venues that generate revenue—such as the Buffalo Bisons, Shea’s Theatre and Kleinhans Music Hall—should be billed, while others urged a standardized approach to avoid inconsistent exemptions. Police officials replied that some venues and situations are governed by leases or county contracts and that the department cannot unilaterally change those arrangements; they said lease terms (for example, KeyBank Center) would be negotiated outside the department.

The department also told the council that some special-event staffing is funded through categorical grants that prohibit billing. The police representative named the Justice Assistance Grant (JAG) and other 'mass-gathering' grants as examples; those grant-funded deployments cannot be billed back to an event. The department said it will inventory such grant constraints as it finalizes billing rules.

Council members pressed on operational impacts, asking whether on-duty officers can cover events, whether venues can be required to supply private security for interior functions and how shifting officers for events affects response times for 911 calls. Police leaders said the first priority is meeting patrol obligations; they try to use on-duty manpower when feasible, but large events and contractual minimums (a four-hour call-in minimum for overtime) often force the department to call in additional staff, increasing costs.

On the budget side, police officials noted the proposed overtime budget line of $4,000,000 reflects historical fourth-quarter spending patterns and that some grants (including a $2.1 million GIVE grant that provides roughly $1.4–$1.5 million for personnel) will offset some of that expense, lowering net city cost. The department said its recruitment and promotional plans (civil-service exams and academy cycles) should eventually reduce vacancy-driven overtime but will not materially lower overtime this fiscal year because training and field certification take time.

Council members asked for a clear, published policy explaining which events will be billed, how rates are calculated, and how grant-funded staffing is treated. The council asked the administration to return with a transparent proposal showing when a venue can expect to be billed vs. when grant rules or lease terms make that impossible. The workshop did not include a formal vote on the proposal; next steps are procedural and administrative.

The police department’s presentation and council questions marked the first of three long budget-focused briefings at the session, which also included fire and Department of Public Works budget reviews.