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Fire and police budgets draw scrutiny as commissioners weigh staffing, overtime and assessment options
Summary
Boynton Beach fire and police chiefs described vacancies, overtime costs and long‑term staffing needs at the June 30 workshop. Fire Chief Hugh Brutder warned that holding vacancies can raise pensionable overtime and suggested revenue options — including a fire‑assessment change contingent on ballot action — as a last resort.
Fire and police leaders told Boynton Beach commissioners at a June 30 budget workshop that hiring, retention and the cost of contract‑driven pay raises are central issues for next year’s budget.
Fire Chief Hugh Brutder said the department currently holds nine vacancies (five uniform), which can increase overtime and pension costs when minimum staffing must be maintained. “When you have a vacancy we have minimum staffing. So when we staff our units and we don't have a person filling that spot, we have to fill it with overtime,” Chief Brutder said. He noted that operating with vacancies can produce higher long‑term costs than filling certain uniform roles.
Police presenters described a proposed reduction in capital outlay and three positions frozen for six months in the draft budget, and identified roughly $1.5 million in potential savings if additional current vacancies were frozen for a year. Police leadership also reported roughly $1.2 million in contractual pay obligations for officers, sergeants and captains that are not built into the flat proposed budget.
Commissioners discussed tradeoffs: several members said public‑safety raises approved in past negotiations are important for retention and recruitment and urged careful communication if pay raises are withheld. Vice Mayor Turkin and others said the proposed budget does not currently include mandated public‑safety contract raises (approximately $2.6M cited for this cycle), and noted that if the commission chooses to implement raises it should also consider a comparable general employee COLA.
Revenue options and contingencies: staff described a contingent option to increase the city’s fire assessment if the city were to absorb additional fire costs because an anticipated merger or other funding source did not materialize; staff emphasized this would be a last‑case scenario and tied to the timing of a November referendum and other decisions.
Next steps: commissioners asked for additional department staffing detail, vacancy tables, and options to reduce overtime costs (for example, filling some uniform vacancies and pursuing contract town contributions); staff said they would return with those analyses as the budget process proceeds to the September hearings.
