WILMINGTON, Del. (AP) - Wilmington is grappling with soaring costs of firefighter overtime pay.
The News Journal reports that (https://delonline.us/1W18kyI ) the amount of money Wilmington spent on overtime for firefighters rose to $1.37 million in fiscal year 2015. That’s more than double the city spent the year before.
Fire Chief Anthony Goode recently restructured the department with the goal of decreasing overtime spending. They say the changes are already paying off.
In January, the first month the new deployment strategy was implemented, the department spent about $77,500 on overtime, compared to about $137,000 that same month in 2015.
But the department’s $851,000 in overtime charges since July is over $600,000 more than the budgeted amount. Goode had to take $275,000 in state grant funds to balance the department’s budget.
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Information from: The News Journal of Wilmington, Del., https://www.delawareonline.com
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