Fall River budget update: revenues on track, winter costs and law suits push timing shortfalls

Fall River City financial staff told the Committee on Finance on Feb. 10 that overall revenues and expenses are tracking broadly where they expected at the mid‑year point, but a set of timing issues and concentrated costs are producing transient shortfalls across several funds.

Emily Arpke, the city’s director of financial services, said motor‑vehicle excise bills were just committed and that current collections now project total receipts above $10,000,000. She cautioned that a handful of one‑time recoveries — including an insurance recovery tied to a demolition — temporarily inflated the 'miscellaneous' line and will not recur.

Arpke described earlier December invoice timing that produced a short delay for one salt delivery (the first invoices were paid roughly 15 days late) and said that since January invoice processing has been back on track. She gave specific interim figures for winter spending: city overtime for snow removal for internal employees was cited at $191,000; contracted snow‑removal services have recorded roughly $180,000 in spending; and salt purchases were reported as $275,000 against a $225,000 budgeted line. Arpke emphasized that the figures are a point‑in‑time snapshot (the report cut‑off was Dec. 31) and that many items appear more or less severe depending on timing when the extract is run.

The law department is projecting higher spending tied to outside counsel and litigation costs; Arpke said the department was at about 83 percent of its expense appropriation to date and that the administration expects to present a transfer request to the council to cover those expenses.

Fire Chief Jeffrey Bacon addressed rising overtime costs and outlined the administration’s plan to reduce overtime through hiring. Bacon said eight firefighters were in the civil service testing pipeline and additional recruits from a joint academy with neighboring cities will arrive for training starting April 20; he said street assignment of new hires is expected in the March–July window and will materially relieve overtime burdens. Arpke said the city will bring an order to the council to transfer funds to cover near‑term overtime once the hire timing is firm.

Councilors pressed about the EMS enterprise fund, which the packet shows with a roughly $1.5 million shortfall at quarter‑end. City staff explained that the EMS budget is front‑loaded (many recurring annual bills are paid early) and that $1.5 million of the budget is a PCG (MassHealth) year‑end reimbursement that typically arrives late in the fiscal year; staff said that timing, not an operating structural deficit, mostly explains the quarterly shortfall and that the account should begin to look more balanced as reimbursements are realized.

Arpke said the city has begun to identify object‑code and timing issues in IT and professional‑services lines and will provide the council with more detailed breakout data. She also recommended a planned transfer from free cash in coming meetings to rebuild the employer trust fund balance after variability from rebates and claim timing.

The council requested more granular backup on the spike in law‑department spending, the detail behind the ‘miscellaneous’ receipts, and the timing of reimbursements; administration pledged to provide supporting documentation and to bring any transfer orders tied to identified shortfalls.

The committee concluded that most shortfalls are timing or one‑time in nature but asked staff to return with documentation on reimbursements, transfer requests, and a clearer breakdown of professional services charges.