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Finance update: vacancies and overtime squeeze year’s budget, forecast shows small surplus
Summary
Finance staff reported vacancies returned some payroll money to the budget but overtime to cover shifts increased forecasted costs; with several vacancies and adjustments the presenter said the forecast included an additional $70,001.74 contingency and projected a small end-of-year surplus if assumptions hold.
Finance staff presented a mid-year fiscal forecast and explained how vacancies and overtime have shifted the department-by-department picture. The presenter said a lieutenant left in March; that vacancy returned about $73,000 to the budget but covering the open shifts with overtime cost the town roughly $106,000, resulting in a net need to add approximately $32,000 to cover staffing in that instance.
Using the three staggered vacancies the department expects through September, staff said they added $70,001.74 to the forecast to cover overtime and coverage; under the current assumptions the town could finish the year with a small surplus (the presenter cited "at least just with a surplus of $5,000") but emphasized there are five months remaining and that fuel and inflation pressures could change the outcome. The presenter also detailed contract and discretionary spending adjustments that helped offset nondiscretionary cost pressures.
