Baltimore’s Police and fire departments and sheriff’s office are seeking nearly $55 million combined in additional city funding to cover budget shortfalls from the fiscal year that ended June 30, with overtime accounting for a substantial share of the unexpected costs.

The Police Department is seeking $22 million for overtime and fleet maintenance, while the city’s sheriff’s office is requesting $2.75 million. The Fire Department is seeking $30 million to cover a deficit attributed to overtime, vehicle maintenance and implementation of a union agreement.

The requests put additional pressure on Baltimore’s general fund as the city begins a new fiscal year and seeks to cover costs that exceeded the amounts budgeted for the previous one.

“Unless Baltimore City makes some really difficult decisions line by line and decides what the city can and will pay for, there won’t be enough money to save up for the pensions and pay overtime,” said Judi Willard, communications and development manager at Truth in Accounting.

Managing overtime costs

For fiscal 2026, the Police Department budgeted $40.3 million for overtime, a $10.7 million increase from the previous fiscal year.

Of the department’s latest $22 million request, about $16 million is tied to overtime costs, according to BPD spokesperson Lindsey Eldridge. This spending is driven by several factors, including staffing shortages, special events and inclement weather.

The request comes just months after police officials told the City Council that they were working to reduce overtime by hiring more officers and shifting sworn personnel into patrol positions.

The department had more than 600 vacant positions when officials appeared before the council in June, including 408 patrol officer vacancies. Officials said then that overtime was needed in part to cover vacant patrol shifts.

Police Commissioner Richard Worley told the council in June that BPD expected to work about 100,000 fewer overtime hours than the previous fiscal year, even though the department was on track to exceed its overtime budget.

David Williams, president of the Taxpayers Protection Alliance, said the city’s reliance on overtime reflects broader staffing and management challenges. The latest request, he said, highlights the need for city officials to look deeper at how overtime is being managed.

“$22 million is a lot of money, and there really needs to be some sort of evaluation,” Williams said.

Eldridge said the department is working to address the issue by hiring additional officers, which she said improves operational capacity and reduces reliance on overtime.

This doesn’t immediately reduce overtime spending, she said, noting the time lag between the hiring of new trainees and their completion of academy and field training.

“However, adding more officers does not necessarily decrease overall personnel spending, as costs associated with salaries, benefits, and other personnel expenses would also increase,” Eldridge said.

In the coming fiscal year, Eldridge said there will continue to be unbudgeted costs assumed by the agency, both anticipated and unanticipated.

“At the same time, our goal is to continue reducing overtime hours and associated costs, consistent with the reductions achieved over the past two fiscal years,” Eldridge said.

Pensions add pressure

The additional public-safety spending comes as Baltimore faces rising long-term personnel costs.

The city’s required contribution to its pension system is expected to increase by roughly $14.5 million in fiscal 2027, while the system’s unfunded actuarial liability climbed to $1.31 billion, according to the most recent actuarial valuation.

Willard said rising pension obligations could leave city leaders with fewer resources to cover overtime and other operating expenses in future years.

“They’re kicking the can down the road,” Willard said. “They’re happy to pay overtime now because that easily comes out of the general fund, but eventually, as pensions grow and grow, there’s going to be less and less of the general fund.”

Willard said the city will eventually face difficult choices as pension costs and personnel expenses compete for limited general fund dollars.

“When Baltimore doesn’t have enough money to cover its overtime, it’s going to start looking to taxpayers,” Willard said. “Taxpayers are going to be the ones holding the bill.”

The three requests were introduced Monday before the Baltimore City Council and will now go to the council’s Budget and Appropriations Committee for discussion. The money would come from the city’s general fund.

The Baltimore City Fire Department and Sheriff’s Office did not respond to requests for comment before publication.

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