2025 is the second budget to feature a Department of Environment as a standalone department. It appeared in the 2023 budget as the “Office of Climate and Environmental Equity,” with preliminary appropriations and positions for the department’s formation. 

This is therefore the first “snapshot” comparison of year-over-year changes for a fully active and budgeted Department of Environment.

Departmental Highlights

Snapshot: Appropriation & Staffing Changes from 2024 Budget

	2024 Budgeted	2025 Proposed	Net Change	Percent Change
Appropriations	$1,801,802	$2,399,239	$597,437	33.2%
Positions & FTEs	14	14	0	0.0%

• Both overall headcount and positions remained unchanged, apart from a retitling of the “Administrative Assistant III” position to “Senior Administrative Assistant.”
• As with several other departments, the Department of Environment budget includes a “reserve balance” appropriation from a number of grant funds. This appropriation, which appears in several department’s budgets and has been retroactively added to 2024 appropriations data as well, was not used in the previous year’s budget at the time of its passage. BGA Policy  has reached out to the Office of Budget and Management for clarification of this appropriation’s purpose and has not yet received a reply.
• The largest increase from the previous year was a $167,097 increase in salaries and wages on payroll. Apart from the new reserve balance appropriation, all other reductions were relatively modest, with a -$35,915 reduction in professional and technical services the largest decline.

Historical Context

The Department of Environment saw one of the largest proportional budget increases in the proposed 2025 budget, in large part due to the department’s small size: an increase of slightly over half a million dollars amounts to a nearly one-third jump in overall budget.

Headcount remained steady from the 2024 to proposed 2025 budgets, compared to the overall citywide decline of -2%. 

Staffing

Both overall headcount and positions remained unchanged, apart from a retitling of the “Administrative Assistant III” position to “Senior Administrative Assistant.” 

Appropriations

Largest Appropriations

Thus far the Department of Environment budget only includes ten appropriations accounts, the largest of which by far is salaries and wages on payroll. 

As with several other departments, the Department of Environment budget includes a “reserve balance” appropriation from a number of grant funds. This appropriation, which appears in several department’s budgets and has been retroactively added to 2024 appropriations data as well, was not used in the previous year’s budget at the time of its passage. BGA Policy  has reached out to the Office of Budget and Management for clarification of this appropriation’s purpose and has not yet received a reply.

Change from Previous Year

The largest increase from the previous year was a $167,097 increase in salaries and wages on payroll. Apart from the new reserve balance appropriation, all other reductions were relatively modest, with a -$35,915 reduction in professional and technical services the largest decline.