But now that the dust has settled, staffers said Tucson had successfully “absorbed” those costs and will still have a $43 million surplus by the end of 2022.
“We are right on track and we were able to absorb those adjustments,” said Jeff Yates, Tucson’s Business Services director. “Everything we thought would happen has happened for the most part.”
It will still be a few years until the full impact of his staffing plan becomes clear, however.
Ortega expects to pay less overtime as more positions are filled in key departments, a money-saving factor in the long-run, but the plan also involves hiring more workers than there are vacancies so positions can be quickly filled when workers retire or leave.
City staff have to predict how many employees they will lose each year based on historical rates, so an overestimation could leave the city with more workers–and costs– than it can afford.
Still, the expected budget surplus for 2022 suggests staffing costs won’t be a big issue in the coming years. Officials are more concerned about funding other initiatives and said that while it is a lot of money, the extra funds aren’t nearly enough to meet the overall need.
“It almost gives the impression that we’re rolling in dough, that we’ve got all of this money. I hate to be the one to be the bearer of bad news, but we really aren’t,” Ortega said. “The needs are far greater than what those revenues look like.”