Syracuse Common councilors begin their public review of the Owens administration’s proposed budget later this week. The police and fire departments typically get scrutinized for millions of dollars in overtime spending. Councilors are asking the city auditor to find out why, and the request appears to be creating some tension.
Public Safety Committee Chair Donna Moore said there’s always been questions about police and fire overtime and hopes an audit can reveal the answers.
“So I specifically asked them to find out why are we having so much overtime? What events are we going to overtime for? What is causing the overtime?” she said.
But the language in the resolution requested by Moore and approved by councilors at their March 23 meeting demands far more detail. It calls for a “comprehensive special audit” of department budgets going back to 2021. It would take six months to complete.
When asked, Moore denied they’re asking for an extensive audit, though they do want more information.
“He's written reports. He's never really done an audit," she said of city auditor Alexander Marion. "To all the council's recollection, there's never been an audit performed.”
Marion said the resolution caught him by surprise. He said Moore sent an email with a few questions but nothing that foreshadowed the much larger request outlined in the resolution.
“I provided a response based on all of the previous body of work that we've done on those issues and did not get any response from her until I saw the resolution," Marion said. "The first I saw it was on the agenda like everyone else.”
But Marion said he’s glad to help.
“I don't know that they've really done a lot of their homework on the front end of this, so they'd like an audit to fill the gaps that seem to exist in their knowledge of police and fire operations,” he said.
In 2024, common councilors requested a report with recommendations on police department staffing and operations.
“We're going to see how some of those recommendations are being implemented," Marion said. "I'm still deciding what the scope and objectives of this are going to be. And I get to make those decisions independently.”
The requested audit won’t be finished until long after this fiscal year’s budget is in place. Still, Marion said it’ll be a useful tool for everyone to better understand how police and fire budgets work and if services can be delivered more efficiently.
