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Council reviews police and fire draft budgets; fire increase includes pumper loan and turnout-gear purchases
Summary
Council reviewed draft police and fire budgets: police is budgeted for a 2.06% increase and fire for roughly a $73,000 increase (about $7,000 of which is a pumper loan payment). Council discussed higher part-time wage costs, a $15,000 drop in health-insurance costs due to enrollment mix, planned officer raises, and turnout-gear purchases.
Council and staff discussed the city’s draft police and fire budgets for the coming fiscal year.
The police draft budget shows a 2.06% increase over the current year; staff attributed part of overall personnel cost changes to recent pay adjustments that were not reflected in the 2024 budget. The transcript’s hourly figures for part-time wages were unclear; staff said the 2024 budget did not reflect recent pay increases and that part-time costs rose as entry-level full-time pay increased.
The fire draft budget rose by about $73,000, staff said, and roughly $7,000 of that increase represents the annual pumper loan payment. Council and staff discussed the local practice of transferring money to reserve funds each year to save toward a future pumper replacement scheduled in roughly three to four years.
Staff also noted a $15,000 decrease in the health insurance line; they said the change reflects differences in the employee mix (age and single versus family coverage) included in the 2025 budget versus 2024.
Fire leadership reported operational adjustments: on-call pay was scaled back because of lower usage, the budget includes planned raises for officers, and the department expects to purchase five complete sets of turnout gear at approximately $4,000 per set (some sets purchased in the current year, remaining purchases budgeted next year).
Council members asked whether the pumper loan payment still allows the department to set aside funds for the next truck; staff confirmed annual transfers to reserves are part of the budget process.
Next steps: staff will finalize budget documents and present any additional detail or amendments for formal adoption according to the city’s regular budget schedule.
