2004 AGN JUN 01 Misc 2 - Laserfiche WebLink

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The 2003-04 Mid -Year Financial Report details revenue and expense adjustments for all City Departments, including the Fire Department. For most departments there is a mix of expense increases as well as expense reductions relevant to the original 2003-04 budget. However, Fire Department adjustments only indicate increased expenses, the greatest of which is $530,000 for overtime (See attachment A.) The bulk of this increased expense is $247,888, which provided overtime coverage for 3 paramedic positions that have been vacant for the past fiscal year. During the past fiscal year, the Fire Department has been operating with 3 paramedic vacancies. These vacancies were primarily created when personnel left Colton to begin working for other local Fire Departments. City of Colton administrators had been unwilling to permanently fill these positions due to the unresolved budget crisis. Therefore, these vacancies were covered with overtime during this period to assure that Fire Department service levels would not be jeopardized. This was the method chosen by the City rather than risk adding 3 full time positions that might have been laid off with the failure of Measure W. The annual cost of filling these positions with full time personnel would have been approximately $313,000 vs. $247,888 actually spent on overtime (See attachment B.) This results in a net savings to the City of $65,112. Unfortunately, the $313,000 savings from these 3 full time paramedic positions is not documented in the 2003-04 Mid -Year Financial Report. Other over -expenditures are the result of the following: • Worker Comp Injuries • Overtime Accounts not adjusted for Council approved salary increases • Overtime Accounts not adjusted for Council approved increase to holiday and vacation hours Finally, the over expenditure in Fire Department overtime is partially the result of City Administrators significantly reducing the original overtime budget submitted to them by over $55,000 On the surface, the 2003-04 Mid -Year Financial Report would appear to chart a Fire Department staffing system that is spiraling out of control. In reality, the 2003/04 fiscal year can be viewed as an aberration with the majority of expenditures listed being the result of administrative decisions that are offset by other savings and limited to the 2003/04 fiscal year. With the passage of Measure W, the City has begun hiring additional personnel to fill vacancies. Once the testing and hiring process is complete the staffing system will stabilize and overtime will return to a more reasonable, predictable amount. Additionally, while future worker compensation injuries are impossible to predict, the injuries resulting in the 2003/04 fiscal year overtime increases have been resolved. Currently, there are no Fire Department vacancies due to Worker Compensation injuries. Therefore, only the adjustments for Salary and Vacation increases that were approved by the Council will roll over to subsequent years. These adjustments are equal to only 7.5% of the total overtime budget. 3