Coatesville City Manager Harry Walker found out Monday night that he wouldn't be able to tap into the city's dwindling Trust Fund without first providing council a more detailed financial picture beyond the fact that police and fire department overtime is skyrocketing because of a spree of arsons plaguing the city.

Now, council has scheduled a special meeting for 6 p.m., Wednesday, Feb. 18, at City Hall, to determine whether it will approve Walker's request to draw down $900,000 from the Trust Fund. The money is needed, according to Walker, to offset police overtime costs which last month neared $100,000; the city only budgeted $156,000 for the entire year. In 2007, police overtime amounted to $248,000, according to city reports.

Council voted 5 to 1 to delay any decision on drawing down the Trust Fund. Council Member Karen Jorgeson cast the only affirmative vote. Council Member Robin Scott was abscent.

Still, some council members remain skeptical of Walker's true intentions. Council Member Ed Simpson, at Monday's council meeting, suggested that some of the money would be diverted to cover unpaid bills carried over from last year. And council Vice President Kareem Johnson questioned why rush. "We need time to ask questions. I'm not prepared to do approve it on 48 hours notice," he said.

Gov. Ed Rendell has already pledged $500,000 to the city to offset overtime costs and to assist arson victims. Jorgenson questioned when would that money arrive. She also implied that the city's finances were fine and problem with unpaid bills was "cash-flow" related.

Walker said there would be no "carte-blanche" use of any money taken from the Trust Fund. "If we're going to keep policing out there, we're going to have to put something back in the till," he said.

Walker said the $900,000 would be used as follows: $624,00 for police overtime; $40,600 fore fire department overtime; $77,000 for a new firefighter, $81,000 for a new police officer; and $77,000 for a new public works employee.

Throughout the three years Walker has been city manager he has vowed not to touch the Trust Fund, but now, he says, times are different.

The Trust Fund balance now stands at $21.7 million, down from $38 million when first established from the proceeds of the water authority, according to a 156-page, independent financial report analysis done for the city by Fairmount Capital Advisors as part of an state early intervention program for financially stressed municipalities.

In 2005, council authorized invading the Trust Fund to borrow $8.5 million for operating budget purposes, In 2006, the Trust Fund was again invaded for $9.1 million. This time $2.1 million was used for operations and $7 million was used to retire outstanding debt. By the end of 2007, the balance was $21.7 million, according to the Fairmount report.

The Trust Fund generated close to $6 million in income in 2001 when the fund balance was near $40 million; but earned less than $1 million in 2006 when the balance fell below $22 million. Investment losses also contributed to the declining balances, according to the Fairmount report.

The report also concludes that the previous council's decision to use the Trust Fund to payoff "nearly all of its outstanding debt" operating spending in 2007 reached its lowest level since 2004 in "large part because of reduced debt service costs."