The Overrun Olympics: Ranking City Hall’s Biggest Budget Blowouts (By Percentage)

Welcome to the Budget Games

Every year City Hall publishes a budget that’s supposed to act like a guardrail.

You know… a limit.

But according to the city’s own audit, a number of departments apparently treated those limits like speed suggestions on Highway 2.

Some went a little over.

Some went way over.

So for the sake of clarity—and a little public accountability—SoupNutz ranked the departments by how far they blew past their budgets in percentage terms.

Grab some popcorn.

 1. Police Department

Over budget: $493,357 (5.45%)

The police department took the top spot for largest dollar overrun, coming in nearly half a million dollars over budget.

That’s a 5.45% increase over its approved spending limit.

Now policing is expensive. Nobody disputes that.

But when one department alone accounts for nearly half a million in overruns, taxpayers are left asking a fair question:

Was the budget wrong…

Or was spending out of control?

2. Administration & Engineering

Over budget: $187,917 (40.7%)

Second place goes to a department many residents probably didn’t even know existed.

Administration and Engineering  overspent its budget by nearly $188,000, which translates to a staggering 40.7% overrun.

That’s not a rounding error.

That’s a full-blown budget detour.

3. Buildings & Grounds (General Government)

Over budget: $120,871 (16.2%)

Coming in third is Buildings & Grounds on the government side of City Hall.

Keeping the lights on, doors unlocked, and HVAC humming cost $120,871 more than planned, a 16.2% overrun.

Somewhere a thermostat probably feels very guilty.

4. Finance Department

Over budget: $92,007 (12.0%)

Yes, the department responsible for tracking money…

Overspent its own budget by $92,007, or about 12% over budget.

The irony here could power the entire municipal electric grid.

5. Assessor’s Office

Over budget: $68,338 (16.6%)

Property assessments are serious business.

Apparently so serious the office ended up $68,338 over budget, a 16.6% increase over what it was given.

Homeowners might wonder if their property values also rose that efficiently.

6. City Clerk

Over budget: $59,802 (19.6%)

The office responsible for elections, records, and public notices finished the year $59,802 over budget, about 19.6% higher than planned.

Democracy isn’t free.

“But apparently it’s also not always on budget.”

7. Inspection Department

Over budget: $55,201 (7.1%)

Inspections are supposed to catch problems early.

Unfortunately the inspection department’s own budget problem wasn’t caught until after spending reached 7.1% above its limit.

8. Mayor’s Office

Over budget: $47,335 (18.96%)

Mayor Jim Paine’s office came in $47,335 over budget, which works out to about a 19% overspend.

Not the biggest dollar overrun in City Hall.

But symbolically?

Pretty awkward.

“Because the office writing the city’s budget ended the year ignoring its own spending limits.”

That’s like the referee scoring the most fouls.

9. City Council

Over budget: $43,770 (46.4%)

Here’s the real eyebrow-raiser.

City Council overspent its budget by $43,770, which equals a whopping 46.4% over budget.

That’s the largest percentage overrun in City Hall.

Apparently oversight meetings require snacks.

Lots of snacks.

10. Miscellaneous Government Costs

Over budget: $42,673 (28.6%)

Nothing says “accounting mystery” quite like a line item called miscellaneous.

That mystery bucket overspent by $42,673, or about 28.6% above budget.

Somewhere a spreadsheet is shrugging.

11–16: The Honorable Mentions

Several smaller overruns also appeared:

• Human Resources: $37,058 (9.96%)

• Planning & Development: $35,379 (17.9%)

• City Attorney: $32,508 (12.3%)

• Buildings & Grounds (Public Works): $11,922 (no budget listed)

• Airport: $4,367 (4.0%)

• Operations: $3,081 (0.19%)

Not huge individually.

But together they reinforce the same pattern.

“Budgets weren’t exactly treated like your budget at home”

The Bigger Picture

To be fair, not every department overspent.

Several areas—including public works and debt service—came in well under budget.

But that’s not the issue here.

The real question is structural.

“If departments can exceed their budgets without formal amendments during the year…”

Then what exactly is the purpose of the budget?

Because a limit that can be exceeded after the fact isn’t really a limit.

It’s a prediction with better formatting.

Final Crossing Signal

Budgets are supposed to tell taxpayers two things:

1. How much government plans to spend

2. Where the money will go

But when multiple departments overshoot their spending plans—some by 20%, 30%, or even 46%—the obvious question becomes:

Are City Hall budgets really limits…

Or just educated guesses written in Excel?

At least now you know why your taxes are going up again next year.

#RaiseEmAgainJim

#TaxpayersGetTheTab

#OverBudgetUnderShame

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Disclaimer

This article provides commentary and analysis based on publicly available financial audit data for the City of Superior. Budget overruns described here reflect differences between budgeted and actual expenditures and do not imply wrongdoing or unlawful conduct by any department or public official. All financial figures are drawn from municipal audit records. We only have records available through 2024 we won’t take outside unaudited numbers from the city for the reasons above.