Summary:
The Council-adopted budget for FY2023 sets spending limits by department and fund. City departments cannot exceed these "appropriations" without City Council approval. For different reasons, several departments expect to exceed their appropriations for FY2023. These are summarized below.
Police PPOA MOU. On March 7, the City Council approved an addendum to the Memorandum of Understanding with the Peoria Police Officers’ Association (PPOA). The wage adjustments in this addendum, including a 10% market adjustment and one-time lump sum payments, have an estimated cost of $1,200,000 for FY2023 that is currently not budgeted.
Police Overtime. The Police Department has a total overtime budget of $2,364,051. Using current trends, the department will exceed this budget in FY2023 by an estimated $600,000. Reasons for the higher-than-expected overtime costs include Super Bowl support, increasing department leave time, and the increasing number of fatal collisions and the complexity of investigations.
Fire Overtime. The Fire-Medical Department added nine new rovers in FY2022 with a stated goal of reducing overtime. These new recruits have successfully completed the Fire Academy, but this year the department sent 13 personnel to paramedic training so the impact of the rovers on overtime has not yet been realized. As such, the Fire-Medical Department is facing an estimated budget shortfall of $2,200,000 for FY2023 (the total overtime budget is $655,792).
City Attorney Payout. To cover the cost of the severance payout for the former city attorney, $200,000.
Leadership and Management Payouts. To cover the cost of separation payouts (for earned vacation and sick leave) to former employees of the Leadership and Management Department, as well as the approved separation agreement for the former city manager, $750,000.
Fleet Fuel and Maintenance. Fleet Services continues to experience steep cost escalation with respect to gasoline, diesel fuel, oils and lubricants, diesel exhaust fluid, tires, and replacement parts. The division needs an additional $600,000 in FY2023 in order to ensure uninterrupted operation of the city's fleet and the associated services.
Solid Waste Cost Increases. The City of Glendale, City of Phoenix, and Waste Management have all increased their disposal fees for FY2023 over what was anticipated. Meanwhile, it is taking almost two years to receive a new solid waste truck from the time of order. As a result, Solid Waste has been forced to keep trucks in service longer than expected, and these older vehicles require higher levels of maintenance and repair. Solid Waste is estimating a total FY2023 budget shortfall of $650,000, with $182,000 attributable to disposal fees and $468,000 attributable to fleet maintenance.
Federal Representation Services. To cover the cost of hiring an outside consultant for professional expertise related to the airport initiative, $30,000.