Wednesday, October 7, 2026Surprise, Arizona

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City Budget Review

Fire-Medical budget, fiscal year 2023

Fire-Medical spent $38.6M in fiscal year 2023 — 10.0% of the $387.8M the City of Surprise published across 22 departments, and the 4th-largest share.

Spending

$38.6M

10.0% of city spending · down 0.4% from 2022

Revenue

$21.4M

Salaries

$16.8M

Divisions

4

Where the money went

Every published expense line, added up by the city's own category.

CategoryTotal
Full-Time Salaries$12.9M33% · 334 lines
Benefits-PSPRS$4.8M13% · 255 lines
Overtime Compensation$3.5M9.0% · 242 lines
Cptl-Land$3.3M8.5% · 6 lines
Paid Time Off$2.0M5.3% · 209 lines
Cptl-Vehicles$1.6M4.1% · 4 lines
Holiday Pay$1.5M3.8% · 172 lines
Fair Labor Act OT Compliance$1.4M3.6% · 38 lines
78 other categories$7.7M20%

Where the money came from

Revenue the city credited to this department, by category.

CategoryTotal
Ambulance Services$13.5M63% · 1 line
Ambulance Insurance Discounts$5.2M24% · 1 line
State Fire Ins Premium Tax Rev$598K2.8% · 1 line
Federal Grant Revenue$511K2.4% · 2 lines
Non-Grant Intergovtl Rev-State$434K2.0% · 1 line
State Shared Smart & Safe Rev$409K1.9% · 1 line
Ambulance Write Offs$209K1.0% · 1 line
OFS-Capital Contributions$98K0.5% · 1 line
20 other categories$359K1.7%

Largest single payments

The biggest individual payments the city published for this department.

DescriptionFundAmount
Cptl-LandJul 28, 2022Public Safety Election 2017$3,043,300.00
Cptl-VehiclesJan 25, 2023Fire/EMS Dev Fee 2020$1,566,696.00
Benefits-PSPRSJun 30, 2023General Fund$732,922.18
Full-Time SalariesFeb 24, 2023The largest of 12 such lines among the top 15General Fund$426,168.98

Largest revenue lines

The biggest individual receipts the city credited to this department.

DescriptionFundAmount
Ambulance ServicesGround Ambulance Service$13,521,838.56
Ambulance Insurance DiscountsGround Ambulance Service$5,224,853.28
State Fire Ins Premium Tax RevGeneral Fund$597,566.64
Federal Grant RevenueThe largest of 2 such lines among the top 15Grants$463,248.98
Non-Grant Intergovtl Rev-StateWildland Fire$433,838.98
State Shared Smart & Safe RevSmart & Safe Fire-Medical$409,058.10
Ambulance Write OffsGround Ambulance Service$208,798.64
OFS-Capital ContributionsGround Ambulance Capital Fund$98,011.94
Treat & Refer Insurance DiscouGeneral Fund$59,221.76
Grant Revenue-OtherGrants$46,551.00
Ambulance - Revenue RecoveryGround Ambulance Service$45,147.43
Treat & Refer Write OffsGeneral Fund$42,160.88
Interest Income RevGround Ambulance Service$25,544.20
Program Fee RevenueGeneral Fund$22,165.00

Explore every Fire-Medical line →

Salaries by division

Totals as the city published them. Surprise does not publish employee names or headcount, and state law keeps individual salaries confidential.

DivisionPublished total
Fire Operations$14,875,423.68
Planning and Logistics$992,740.58
FD Administration and Finance$935,854.66

Published salary total by fiscal year: $10.1M in 2018, $16.8M in 2023. Not adjusted for inflation.

  1. 2018$10.1M
  2. 2019$10.9M
  3. 2020$12.4M
  4. 2021$13.8M
  5. 2022$14.0M
  6. 2023$16.8M

City labels these records unaudited. View the city's original records.