With overtime and other staffing costs ballooning, a Bay Area city attempts to fix its budget crisis

One Hayward general safety operator received more in overtime pay last year than their base salary A Hayward Fire Department battalion chief received nearly a quarter-million dollars in overtime They re just two examples of how the city of Hayward is wrestling to rein in spending fueled by salaries benefits and overtime As Hayward revises its - budget after depleting million in its general fund budget the city is working to rein in its expenses after a increase in salaries and benefits and a increase in overtime that has caused city authorities to return to the negotiation table with the city s labor groups Our residents safety departments account for the lion s share of overtime expenses largely because they account for the lion s share of overall city staffing Hayward communications manager Chuck Finnie revealed in a declaration to Bay Area News Group Our strategy for reducing overtime is to reduce vacancies and identify more efficient options to meet minimum fire and police department staffing and priority arrangement requirements Along with increased expenses Hayward s major budget deficit this past year was also fueled by lower-than-estimated revenue for the city cumulatively resulting in what Finnie calls a perfect storm In total the city spent million in the fiscal year more than million over budget for the year and leaving just million in its reserves according to the city A multitude of of the same structural issues apply to the current budget which was approved on July and would aftermath in a million deficit if it is not revised To prevent another year in the red city leaders established a budget war room in September The first move was to freeze hiring in the city while the city council and other senior staff revealed they would voluntarily take pay cuts and forego cost-of-living adjustments The city hopes that renegotiating with the city s labor groups will development in a more budget-friendly deal for the city s future Interim city manager Jayanti Addleman declined to comment on the city s negotiating objective but commented the city would hold a populace work session at the Nov city council meeting where executives will review how to reduce personnel costs and close the budget deficit Hayward Mayor Mark Salinas declared he has faith that the city s labor groups will cooperate to improve the city s finances Our labor groups have reliably come to the bargaining table and have worked with the council to ensure the financial stability of the city Salinas declared Employees are typically the largest expense for any city according to Tom Rubin vice president of the Alameda County Taxpayers Association Rubin is a former auditor who has monitored the financial management of cities and transportation agencies across the Bay Area a multitude of of which have struggled with budget cuts since the sunsetting of COVID relief funds But overtime for selected employees is often a wise decision for cities budgets when healthcare and other benefits are taken into consideration he revealed There are specific jobs where it s just not realizable or practical to hire people who will work hours a week And for cities that s first responders police and fire and paramedics Rubin commented Sometimes it s more economical for cities to have a certain amount of overtime In addition fire and police departments have mandatory staffing level requirements Rubin reported which demand that community safety employees often work more than hours per week For this reason he revealed it s often complicated for cities to retain society safety employees who have to sacrifice family life in exchange for their careers Still Rubin mentioned the situation isn t entirely inevitable and that cities can curb excessive overtime if they make staffing a top priority It s not totally unavoidable but it takes a concerted approach at the top Rubin revealed In an attempt to address the current budget predicament Addleman mentioned the city is cutting costs on a wide variety of expenses including overtime Authorities are closely monitoring overtime expenses each payroll period and are generally restricting overtime to what is necessary to meet minimum staffing requirements for the Hayward Fire and Police departments she reported Bay Area News Group With staffing costs accounting for the vast majority of expenses the outcome of the Nov work session will be key We are cutting spending on supplies and services and on excursion and training Addleman declared However our primary focus is salaries and benefits costs which account for percent of general fund spending and now absorbing approximately percent of general fund revenue