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Council weighs police overtime for major events after rodeo donation prompts debate
Summary
Councilors reviewed a roughly $9,000 police overtime line for the annual rodeo and debated whether the city, event organizers or fire district should shoulder those costs despite donations to local services; staff emphasized public safety needs during large events and suggested billing or reimbursement options be explored.
Councilors probed the police department’s proposed overtime lines after staff said about $9,000 is budgeted for rodeo overtime and related large events.
Police Chief Travis and other staff said the majority of the overtime line covers two nights of heavy event activity that require additional officers for public safety and traffic control. Chief Myers and staff emphasized that with large attendance spikes the department must staff additional officers for public safety and crowd management rather than only 'security' and that the overtime budget has covered that operational need in past years.
Council members questioned whether the rodeo association, the fire district or other entities that benefit from the event should reimburse police overtime costs. Supporters of the current arrangement pointed to the rodeo association’s larger community contributions — staff noted a $50,000 donation to the fire department — and said the event generates local economic activity and long‑term community benefit that justifies city support. Others said requiring a broader distribution of costs among beneficiaries would be fairer to taxpayers who may not attend the event.
Staff offered two paths: keep the overtime as a city expense recognizing the community benefit or pursue partial reimbursements and formal agreements for event policing. Council asked staff to raise the matter with the fire board and the rodeo association and to return with options for cost‑sharing or billing for future events.
No formal policy decision was adopted; council directed staff to pursue information on reimbursement and to provide a clearer breakdown of event overtime in the next budget update.
