Council asks for clearer accounting of event billing after chief says city often absorbs prep costs

Council members pressed the chief for clarity on "unfunded reimbursed billings" tied to special events and regional assets such as the bomb squad. Chief Henry explained the department bills vendors for the day-of staffing that officers perform and that some events reimburse the department for that staff time, saying, "Target is paying for all that overtime and the officer is just receiving it. It's just being run through the city." However, he added that the department often does not bill or recoup the planning and administrative overhead related to events.

The chief said the volume of permitted events has risen since the pandemic and that while the department attempts to recover some costs, reimbursements commonly do not cover the full expense. He gave the bomb squad as an example: the department bills other jurisdictions for runs but "that does not fully cover the cost" of running that regional asset. Council members asked the department to provide a net accounting that shows the total cost of events (planning, administration and day-of staffing), how much is billed and how much is reimbursed so the council can see the fiscal impact on the general fund.

SPD agreed to provide a breakdown that separates reimbursed overtime from general-fund overtime and lists the administrative hours the department currently absorbs for events, plus a reconciliation of net revenue or cost per event type.