The finance committee reviewed and agreed to move forward a police-department transfer request to cover comp-time buybacks and an overtime shortfall caused by staffing shortages and a temporary National Guard deployment.

Sean (Speaker 12) told the committee that buybacks paid to officers who wanted to convert accrued comp time to pay totaled $56,008.64 and that an overtime deficit of roughly $15,004.76 existed in the department’s overtime line. He requested an additional $10,000 buffer to cover expected coverage through year end, bringing the total transfer request to $82,340.29 to be moved from the patrolman salary line into the overtime line.

On staffing, Speaker 12 reported the department was short about six patrol officers at the time of the meeting but had three recruits in the academy and one recent hire (Nathan Lowry) who was entering the training pipeline; he said the new recruits were expected to reduce the shortfall by February–March. Speaker 12 also reported that Sergeant Kodum had been ordered to National Guard duty for at least 120 days, increasing the need for overtime coverage.

Committee members asked for the detailed list of buyback transactions so members could review them; Speaker 12 agreed to circulate the list. The committee signaled agreement to move the transfer forward to cover buybacks and provide staffing flexibility through the end of the year.

Next steps: staff will send the buyback list to committee members and process the transfer; HR and finance staff will continue finalizing 2026 insurance-premium numbers that bear on next year’s budget planning.