191020

This item is expected to generate additional costs; however, based on analysis by the Community Safety Division, increased personnel costs can be absorbed by BOEC through vacancy savings and will not result in an additional fiscal impact on the General Fund. CBO corroborated this fiscal analysis, which showed current vacancy savings accruing at approximately $235,000 monthly based on a snapshot of current vacancies, as compared to the projected cost increase of $160,000 per month generated by the contract amendments in this ordinance.  

CBO also notes that Council adopted a budget note in the FY 2022-23 Adopted Budget that states BOEC “is directed to use FY 2021-22 underspending to support hiring additional emergency dispatcher and quality assurance staff positions as they are able to fill them. During the FY 2022-23 Fall BMP, the bureau may keep underspending in the Emergency Communications Fund.” As part of FY 2022-23 Fall BMP Development, BOEC has recognized and requested to retain $2.69 million in unspent PY resource, attributable to both unspent one-time allocations for additional dispatch and training supervisors ($1.26 million) and unspent materials and services allocations ($1.42 million). The bureau has an FY 2022-23 Adopted Budget beginning fund balance total of $3,309,783 and with the addition of the Fall Supplemental Budget package will BOEC’s total CY fund balance to $5,998,712—comprised of unspent General Fund discretionary revenue, State 911 revenue, and other external resource (user agencies are billed on actuals and credited their portion of State 911 revenue and thus their contributions do not fall to balance). Therefore, CBO notes that should the contract amendment costs related to overtime and coaching premiums prove to generate costs higher than anticipated in the projections attached, the bureau possesses significant fund balance to remedy those costs and would likely not need to request compensation set-aside resources in the Spring Budget Monitoring Process.