What the Council asked for. On Nov. 2, Council Member Garrabrant asked city staff for "a quarterly report of real-time trending data" on legal fees and department overtime, and Council Member Osborne backed the idea. Council Member Kimball noted that the Council approves auction contracts but never sees what the auctions bring in (minutes, video).
This is a working version of that report, built only from documents the city already publishes. It shows what can be tracked today, and what the city's own books would add.
Legal fees
Actual spendingAdopted budgetBudget after Oct. 19 amendmentReported by the Daily Times, not in city books yet
Actual spending rose from $359,720 to $440,679 over three years, close to budget each year. For FY 2025-26 the city hasn't published actuals yet. The Council added $123,325 to the Law budget on Oct. 19 (Res. 3), and the Watertown Daily Times reported $704,347 in total legal fees for the year (story).
*The Daily Times' figures for earlier years don't match the adopted budget books, and its FY 2025-26 total is more than the amended Law budget. Legal costs can also sit in other accounts (for example risk retention). A city report could settle this by listing legal costs by firm and by account.
Overtime
Actual spendingAdopted budgetBudget after Oct. 19 amendment
Overtime ran between $2.38M and $2.64M a year in actual spending, while adopted budgets were set lower: $1.91M for FY 2024-25 and $1.78M for FY 2025-26. On Oct. 19 the Council added $439,225 to Fire and $265,825 to Police overtime for FY 2025-26, bringing that year to about $2.49M. The FY 2026-27 budget sets overtime at $2.74M, closer to recent actuals.
| Department | FY22-23 actual | FY23-24 actual | FY24-25 actual | FY26-27 adopted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fire | $1,335,291 | $1,433,175 | $1,115,750 | $1,341,061 |
| Police | $478,379 | $595,639 | $678,324 | $650,000 |
| Snow Removal | $162,789 | $129,010 | $178,126 | $200,000 |
| Arena | $56,000 | $88,824 | $74,846 | $65,000 |
| Sewage Treatment and Disposal | $73,411 | $65,881 | $56,139 | $75,000 |
| Transmission and Distribution | $30,459 | $40,259 | $54,425 | $50,000 |
| Traffic Control and Lighting | $31,203 | $31,533 | $32,247 | $35,000 |
| Purification | $32,504 | $34,095 | $32,075 | $40,000 |
| All other (40 departments) | $177,471 | $224,702 | $256,301 | $284,750 |
| All departments | $2,377,507 | $2,643,118 | $2,478,233 | $2,740,811 |
Our sum of every "150 Overtime" line in the FY 2025-26 and FY 2026-27 adopted budget books. FY 2026-27 is the adopted budget, not spending.
Surplus auctions
Most of the money comes from a few sales of trucks and heavy equipment. Smaller sales, like a batch of bicycles or a used pump, bring in a few hundred dollars each. These were the four biggest sales:
| Sale | Closed | Lots | Winning bids | Top lot |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| #49591 | 2026-10-29 | 9 | $32,550 | 2004 International WorkStar 7500 Dump Truck ($10,100) |
| #42831 | 2025-06-20 | 14 | $26,850 | 2004 Freightliner FLD120 SDG Dump Truck ($6,600) |
| #36485 | 2024-02-29 | 45 | $24,768 | 1998 Bandit 250XP 12" Chipper Trailer ($6,700) |
| #38534 | 2024-08-12 | 10 | $23,330 | 1997 Mack RD688P Plow Truck ($3,650) |
Approved winning bids from the public Past Prices page for the sellers "City of Watertown-NY" and "City of Watertown PD-NY". These are hammer prices: the buyer premium goes to the auction company, listing fees come out of proceeds, and unpaid lots get re-listed, so the city's net is lower. Only the city's books show what it received.
What a quarterly report from the city's own books would add
Legal
Monthly spending by firm and by matter (foreclosures, labor, litigation, general counsel), across all accounts, against the budget.
Overtime
Hours and dollars by department each quarter, with the main causes (vacancies, minimum staffing, snow events, special events), against the budget.
Auctions
Net proceeds per sale after fees and non-payments, which fund received them, and what was sold.
Format
One page per quarter: the same charts, updated within a few weeks of quarter end, with the year-to-date compared to the same point last year.
How we built this
Legal and overtime figures come from the city's FY 2025-26 and FY 2026-27 adopted budget books (Law account A1420; every department's overtime line, all funds) and the Oct. 19 budget amendment. Auction figures come from Auctions International's public sale records. Where we couldn't confirm a number, we say so. WBA isn't paid by the City of Watertown; this is an independent prototype.