City of Lincoln set to approve $22 million 2019-20 budget
Part two: Fire Department budget request

 

[April 09, 2019] 

LINCOLN 

On Monday, March 25th Lincoln aldermen hosted a budget workshop to review and adjust the proposed budget for the new year. The city’s new fiscal year will begin May 1, 2019 and end April 30, 2020.

The budget draft had been prepared by city treasurer Chuck Conzo with input from the various department heads and the city administrator. At the budget workshop, Conzo led much of the discussion, but turned the floor over to Lincoln Fire Chief Mark Miller to discuss the fire department budget, Police Chief Paul Adams for discussion of the police department budget, and Street Superintendent Walt Landers for the Streets and Alleys.

Miller was the first up, with a review of the necessary expenditures for the new year.

Fire Department

Miller spoke first, addressing the financial needs of the fire department. In the original draft the total budget for the fire department was $1,598,001. After the discussions about the budget the total figure dropped slightly to $1,583,001 compared to $1,537,310 in the 18-19 year.

Miller began by saying that most of his line items were being held at the same level as the previous year. He noted that there is still $50,000 in equipment maintenance for the new year which is the same amount as the previous two years. However, he said he is expecting that actual expenditures in the new year will come in below that cost because of the new ladder truck the city will have.

One notable change in the budget was in the contractual services line item. In the 18-19 year the figure was $7,500. In the new year, Miller is asking for $20,000 in that line item. He explained that the difference is going to be the purchase/subscription to a new program for maintaining department policy and procedures.

He said that the program will expedite updating policy and procedure within the department and will also help assure that those policies are in line with state guidelines. The program will assist in getting those updates in a timely fashion.

He added that the program comes with the ability for Lincoln firefighters to utilize it in their training schedules.

Miller said this is the same program that the Lincoln Police Department is utilizing and it works out very well for them. Police Chief Paul Adams added that this is a program that the Illinois Public Risk Fund loves to see used. He said that for the police department there was actually some IPRF reimbursement to the police department last year for the implementation of the program. That is also a possibility for the fire department.
 

Under grant expenses, Miller said that there is $35,000 in the new budget, but he felt that could be dropped down to $20,000. He explained that the money is put into the budget as a local match should the department be awarded a state or federal grant. He said that the only grant the city could be awarded would not require that much match. That line was changed after the first budget meeting to reflect the new figure.

In the accrued overtime line, there was an increase from $10,000 to $19,000. Miller explained that this was time earned and saved by employees that was then used for paid days off throughout the year. He added that there are no new overtime hours going into this account on the long term. The balance of accrued overtime is from previous years as overtime is now paid out on the pay periods. However, those who had overtime accrued previously still have it on the books to be paid out. The money can be paid out for paid days off or when an employee leaves. Miller said the significant increase in this amount for the new year was because of an upcoming retirement.

Moving on there were two notable line changes. The regular overtime line dropped by $10,000 while the monthly salaries increased by $37,340.

Miller explained that the overtime was dropping partially because of the savings the city has incurred with hiring a new employee for the department. He said that he lowered the figure this year “cautiously” because he can’t fully anticipate what situations might arise that would necessitate calling in off-duty fire fighters who would then be on overtime.

Steve Parrott asked how much it had cost to hire that new employee and Miller answered roughly $45,000 plus $16,000 in benefits. Parrott noted that the city spent $70 to save $10 and he wondered if that was what had been expected. Miller said that there was more consideration going into that overtime line.

Assistant Chief Bob Dunovsky was in the gallery observing the budget process. Dunovsky will take over as the chief on May 1st and will be the one responsible for maintaining the new budget figures. He spoke up saying he understood the comparison that Parrott was drawing, but he wanted the aldermen to understand that in actuality the two line items are not related.

He said the overtime figure takes into consideration daily manning of the station in the event of sick days for scheduled firefighters, and also in response to emergency call-ins. As Miller had already noted, the department can’t determine what emergencies might arise that require multiple shifts to be called in to assist. So, the overtime figure as summarized by Miller was calculated to help cover unexpected situations.

Dunovsky added that moving forward there is a plan to keep specific track of the new hire and determine what financial benefit the additional personnel has on the department budget.

It was also noted that new hires come in at a lower wage and thus a lower overtime rate. Using himself as an example, Dunovsky said that his time-and-a-half overtime was in excess of $50 per hour. When he becomes chief he will no longer have that overtime option. When a new firefighter is hired, that overtime figure may be in the $30 to $35 range. That alone is going to save the city money.

As this discussion came to an end, Conzo made a couple of observations. He said that the new firefighter had been hired in August, so the full $45,000 would not be expended, but also comparing the wage to the overtime issue, he said that currently the overtime paid out by the fire department is right at $80,000; $30,000 less than has been budgeted for the 2018-19 year.

Budget requests then moved on to the Lincoln Police Department. That review will be featured in LDN’s Part three budget coverage.

[Nila Smith]