Adopted 2017 Annual Operating & Capital Improvement Budget

EXPENDITURE ASSESSMENT
Personnel
Personnel expenditures include the payment of employee salaries, overtime, allowances, benefits, and employer tax
obligations. Costs associated with personnel represent 51.3% of the total budgeted expenditures. Personnel
expenditures increased 1.6% or $361,945 over those of the prior year’s amended budget. Due to the materiality of
personnel costs on the City’s budget, each element of the change is presented below.
Employee transition and changes in benefit elections during 2016 resulted in a net savings to the City of $174,434.
Annual market adjustments increased personnel costs by $145,195.
General employee performance raises are forecasted to increase personnel costs by $225,793.
Police step increases are expected to increase personnel costs by $67,913.
Seasonal and temporary wages decreased $4,150 based on individual department needs.
Overtime wages increased $30,840 due to increasing wages and the needs of the departments.
Extra duty wages increased $200,000 due to an anticipated increase in special events and concerts.
Expenditures for clothing, cleaning, communications, and vehicle allowances increase a total of $1,410.
A favorable quote resulted in the reduction of health insurance premiums by $130,622.
The following chart illustrates the historical personnel trends and forecasts:
Personnel
(in millions)
$24.0
$23.5
$23.0
$22.5
$22.0
$21.5
$21.0
$20.5
$20.0
Personnel
(in millions)
2013
Actuals
2014
Actuals
2016 Amended Budget
$23.40 Million
2015
Actuals
2016
Estimate
2017
Adopted
Budget
20.81 21.26 22.13 22.85 23.76
As depicted in the above chart, personnel costs are forecasted to increase approximately 4.0% above those of the yearend
estimate. That said, there is often a significant difference between personnel forecasts and the costs which are
actually recognized by the organization. The discrepancy between the 2016 amended budget and that of the year-end
estimate is a result of the manner in which the personnel budget is developed. The personnel budget is generated using
current payroll data, yet such data is modified so as to infer the complete occupancy of all available positions. The
method does not take into account the vacancy savings recognized when positions are vacated for a period of time, nor
does it account for the often reduced rate which newly hired individuals earn in comparison to their predecessors.
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