Mirroring a statewide trend, the city will need to make a budget adjustment to reflect last year’s unexpected fire service overtime costs.
During the Santa Cruz City Council meeting Tuesday morning, a brief consent calendar item — designated as uncontroversial by government officials — requests that city leaders backfill a combined nearly $1.2 million in fiscal year 2019 general fund overspending by the Santa Cruz Fire Department, at about $803,000 for unexpected overtime spending, and in the City Attorney’s Office, nearly $362,000 for increased legal costs. The cost overruns were balanced out by two unfilled Public Works Department positions and one at the Santa Cruz Civic Auditorium, plus additional underspending in services and materials, according to a city Finance Department report.