Thomas Breen file photo
Firefighters at work on Grand Avenue.
Alders voted unanimously to move $1 million debt service to the fire department to help cover the cost of over-budget overtime.
Local legislators took that vote Monday night during the latest bimonthly full board meeting.
As City Hall remains indefinitely closed to the public because of the state of emergency around Covid-19, the meeting took place onlina via Zoom.
No alders made comments during the public meeting about the $1 million budget transfer after Amity/Westville Alder and Majority Leader Richard Furlow introduced the item and before the group took a unanimous vote of approval.
The city’s April 2020 monthly financial report shows that, as of the end of April, the city Fire Department projected to spend a total of $4.6 million overtime by the end of the fiscal year. That’s $2.431 million more than included in the original budget for fire OT.
The department spent nearly $3.8 million on overtime last fiscal year, and $4.6 million on overtime the year before that.
According to meeting minutes from the aldermanic Finance Committee’s May 11 meeting, during which the proposed budget transfer was heard, Fire Chief John Alston told the committee alders that sick leave, paid time off, and the needs of new recruits were all affecting the overtime overage.
The original transfer requested submitted by the city was for $2 million from debt service to fire OT.
According to the meeting minutes, City Budget Director Michael Gormany said that the request could be dropped to $1 million “as current projections show that one million should be sufficient.
“Fire Chief Alston confirmed that if they needed to come back for more overtime funding, which he hopes they do not need to do, that they would have a better idea of the effects of Covid-19 on the need for overtime.”
If Alston has the estimate he should share the details behind the OT. I have heard from reliable sources that one high ranking fire official will earn $300K this year with more than half of it coming from OT and he is the person handing out the OT