Page 16 - City of Bedford FY21 Budget

Funding priorities are established each year based on City Council goals and objectives.
The process of making funding decisions begins with staff budget analysis of budget
history and trends, reviewing current year initiatives, status of year-to-date spending, and
identification of major challenges that will be faced in the upcoming fiscal year.
 Compensation/Benefits

In FY 2016-2017, a Public Safety Step Plan was instituted for all sworn Police and Fire
personnel. The proposed budget includes funding for year five of the Step Plan. The City
Council included a 2% adjustment to the City pay plans, including the Public Safety Step
Plan. All staff received a 2% increase to coincide with the adjustment.

As part of the health insurance renewal for the City, the winning bid resulted in budget
savings for the premiums. The City Council elected to include funding for Health Savings
Accounts for employees funded by a portion of the savings and use the remaining savings
to address additional budget needs. City Council also evaluated the retirement plan options
currently offered to employees through the Texas Municipal Retirement System. With this
budget, they also added a 50% updated service credit and supplemental death benefits for
active employees. This puts the City of Bedford retirement benefits more in line with other
entities of similar size.

 Staffing Level Changes

The adopted budget has moved positions to more appropriate funding sources or functional
divisions. There are no new positions included in the budget, all changes pertain to existing
personnel.

In General Government, the Grant Administrator position has been reclassified to an
Assistant to the City Manager. For Support Services, the positions formerly assigned to
the Risk Management Division in the Water Fund have been incorporated into the Facilities
Maintenance Division in the General Fund. In Development, the Neighborhood Services
Division has reclassified the Supervisor position to a Senior Neighborhood Services
Officer. In Administrative Services, the positions formerly assigned to the Accounting
Division in the Water Fund have been incorporated into the Finance Division in the General
Fund. For the Police Department, several positions were reclassified or moved. A Deputy
Chief position and a Lieutenant position were reclassified into two Captain positions. A
Police Corporal position was moved from Community Relations to Traffic. The Patrol
Administrative Assistant was reclassified to a Digital Media Evidence Technician in
Criminal Investigations. Finally, the positions assigned to the Behavioral Intervention Unit
were reassigned to the Criminal Investigations Division. In the Fire Department, the
Deputy Chiefs for Emergency Operations and EMS, along with the Battalion Chief for
Training, were reassigned to the Administration Division. For Public Works, the Crew
Leader positions in Streets were reclassified to Senior Maintenance Worker positions and
a Street/Traffic Supervisor. Additionally, an Administration Division was created, and the

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