Deficits at Baltimore?s fire and police departments resulting in millions in unplanned overtime expenses is adding to the city?s budget woes, budget officials said Thursday.
“We?re projecting a $10 million to $12 million deficit, based on deficits at those two departments,” said Councilman Jack Young, D-District 12, chairman of the city council budget committee.
“We?re going to have to be really creative to avoid laying people off.”
Young said a mid-year report he requested from city finance chief Edward Gallagher shows the Baltimore Police Department running a $19 million deficit and the Baltimore City Fire Department $9 million in the red halfway through 2007.
The cost overruns are mostly attributable to overtime spending in both agencies, Young said.
“I am a big supporter of the police department, and I?m glad crime is down,” Young said. “But I?m not happy about overtime spending; it?s taking money from other agencies.”
Concerned that additional staffing planned for city recreation centers has been put on hold, Young said money is being diverted from programs he called essential to the city?s long-term health.
“We had plans to add employees at all our recreation centers to give kids something to do,” Young said. “Now with the hiring freeze, because of the budget problems, some of those jobs will not be filled. That?s troubling.”
Fire department officials said efforts to cut back on overtime have been put in place to clamp down on expenses.
“Basically, overtime has been more than we anticipated because we had firefighters detailed to other areas outside of basic operations,” including working on the department?s IT infrastructure, said spokesman Kevin Cartwright.
“In an effort to limit the adverse impact, we have returned those firefighters to their normal positions.”
Sterling Clifford, spokesman for Mayor Sheila Dixon, said the mayor?s freeze on new hires and cutbacks on police overtime will keep the city in the black.
“Our expenses have come in a little higher than expected and our revenues have come in a little lower. It?s a challenging financial environment,” he said.
“We will close the gap but it will take some work.”
Last month, city officials revealed the sagging real estate market is costing Baltimore millions in lost tax revenues. Halfway through the current fiscal year, budget analysts predicted a $20 million to $30 million shortfall in receipts from recordation and transfer taxes ? revenues that played a key role in past city surpluses when real estate was booming.
“Best-case scenario is 20 percent off; the worst case is 30 percent,” said Councilman Robert Curran, D-3rd District, another member of the city budget committee.
