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St. Louis board shifts $1.4 million to cover firefighter pay after police raises
Summary
The St. Louis Board of Estimate and Apportionment approved one-year budget changes to cover an estimated $1.4 million in additional firefighter salary costs after pay increases approved for police officers. Budget Director Paul Payne outlined funding swaps drawing from fleet capital, an internal police contingency, and general fund adjustments.
Budget Director Paul Payne told the Board of Estimate and Apportionment on June 18 that the city needs a set of one-year budget changes to cover roughly $1.4 million in additional fire department salary costs after the police board approved raises.
"This would be item 14, adding to last week's amendments, to address an estimated $1.4 million in additional cost to the fire department salaries resulting from the pay increases approved by the board by the police board yesterday," Budget Director Paul Payne said, explaining the three-part funding approach.
Payne described the swaps in detail: about $1.0 million in increased general-fund allocations to fire salaries and overtime (with a corresponding increase in the charge to the GEMT fund), $445,000 reallocated from a fleet capital asset line (reducing a $2.6 million line to $2.2 million), and a $1.0 million reduction from the police department’s judgment/internal services line based on current-year underspending and an expected $5 million set-aside.
Together, Payne said, those three moves provide the $1.4 million needed to cover the fire department’s next-year salary and related benefit increases without creating a structural, ongoing revenue commitment.
Board members praised Payne’s work but repeatedly called the package a short-term fix. One member said the changes "get us through 1 year," and emphasized the city will need to find ongoing revenue sources to sustain the higher salary base in future budgets. Members noted potential trade-offs, saying recurring large raises for one department could pressure wages and programs across the city, including recently funded items such as right-to-counsel, code blue, and tiny homes.
The board approved the amendments and then voted to adopt item seven, which includes the described items 14A–C. The board also noted the Board of Aldermen will hold a special meeting Monday to act on the full fiscal year budget before the July 1 deadline.
Details recorded by the budget office in the meeting: the fleet capital line would be reduced from $2.6 million to $2.2 million (freeing approximately $445,000); the general fund would absorb roughly $1.0 million to cover fire salaries and overtime; and the police department’s judgment/internal services line would be reduced by about $1.0 million based on current-year underspending.
