Council presses SPD for full overtime and vacancy-savings accounting after department reports YTD cut

During the presentation Chief Henry highlighted an overtime reduction the department has achieved in 2026: "We are down 17.41% in overtime compared to last year at this time," he said while walking through a slide that compared year-to-date pay periods for 2025 and 2026. The chief clarified the comparison is apples-to-apples by using pay period 17 for both years.

Council member Jost pressed for clarity on whether both figures cover the same calendar point: "Are both of those numbers, at the same point in time because we're not through the end of the year 2026?" he asked. Chief Henry answered that both are year-to-date through pay period 17 and reaffirmed the department's internal changes — shifting minimums across districts and altering callback practices — that helped reduce overtime.

The council also asked whether the department's overtime totals include funds that were budgeted for sworn FTEs but used to pay overtime/backfill. Henry said those budgeted salaries and overtime interact: some budgeted-but-unfilled sworn positions have money that is used to cover shifts, and that staff-shortage callback accounted for roughly $680,000 year-to-date. He added that the general overtime budget for 2026 was "$2,400,000." Council members asked for a full account — inclusive of vacancy savings and reimbursed overtime — to understand the total cost of overtime to the city.

The department agreed to provide a follow-up package with: a full-year overtime actuals table (including reimbursed vs. general-fund overtime), a breakdown of overtime by category (staff-shortage callback, late calls, special events, mutual aid), and the current counts of budgeted vs. filled sworn positions to show the vacancy savings/backfill picture. Council members said that information is essential to evaluate whether the reported YTD reduction reflects a real, sustained savings.