City Pays $1 Million Per Month in Police/Fire Overtime
Friday, January 27, 2012
The city of Providence shelled out more than $1 million per month in overtime and callback pay to police officers and firefighters between July 2010 and last month, according to a GoLocalProv review of public safety financial records.
The total amount spent over the 18 month period – which spans the entire 2011 fiscal year and the first six months of the 2012 fiscal year – was $18,294,680. The costs in the fire department are significantly larger than the police department, with firefighters raking in $14,216,706 over the time period, more than three times the amount police officers made.
Providence Public Safety Commissioner Steven Pare said large overtime expenses are a result of having not enough firefighters in the city and the amount of sick days that are taken.
“One of the drivers is a personnel shortage,” Pare said. “We need to hire more firefighters. We [also] need to be trending down the number of sick days they take. We have no problem if you’re sick and you take a day off. We have a problem if you’re not sick and you take a day off.”
Council President: I’m Concerned
The cash-strapped city’s concerns are nothing new. In a report issued last year, the Mayor Taveras-appointed Municipal Finance Review Panel noted that “city contracts are very balanced in favor of unions - the City has little or no management rights in areas of staffing, flexible work weeks, privatization, etc. This results in excessive overtime and callback salaries in nearly all major departments.”
The panel made specific recommendations to help curb some of the overtime costs. It suggested the city explore a substitute fire pool that would both cut back overtime and save shortages in the ranks.
But while police officers are on pace to save more than $1 million in the 2012 fiscal year, the firefighters’ overtime could cost the city $500,000 more than it did last year. Providence City Council President Michael Solomon called the figures concerning.
“I think it's a positive sign that the Police Department have reigned in their overtime costs year over year,” Solomon said. “At the same time, I am concerned that the Fire Department is on pace to exceed their FY 2012 budget, even after minimum manning was reduced in the current contract. The Finance Committee has held hearings at the conclusion of each fiscal quarter and it has been a productive process. I look forward to analyzing these numbers in the hearing process with the hope that we can uncover underlying factors and then work with the Administration to do what we can to control them.”
Police Union President: We’re Doing Our Part
During the first six months of the current fiscal year, police officers were paid just over $867,000 in overtime, more than $1 million less than they were paid in the first six months of the 2011 fiscal year. Taft Manzotti, president of the Providence Fraternal Order of Police, blamed the policies of former Police Chief Dean Esserman’s for significantly increasing the costs of overtime.
Manzotti said the union was willing to come to table to address some of the problems of the past.
"We made some contractual agreements to curb some of the overtime costs," Manzotti said. “We did what we had to do contractually to curb the overtime. We’re doing our part to help out.”
Pare agreed that the department has been more efficient in managing its costs.
“We didn’t have the money,” Pare said. “We had a lot of discretionary spending with federal and city dollars and they’re managing that better now.”
Councilman: Committed to Holding all Departments Accountable
City Councilman David Salvatore said that while the efforts have been made to cut back some of the overtime costs, more needs to be done to keep different departments living within their budgets. Salvatore said the fire department has more work to do.
“While the people of Providence recognize that our public safety employees have the daunting task of protecting our City with less resources, we expect all departments to continue living within their monetary means and monitor their budgets on a daily basis,” Salvatore said. “It is my understanding, based on these expenditures, that our police department is exceeding expectations in year-to-date overtime spent while our fire department has an opportunity to focus on the Mayor's shared sacrifice theme.”
Salvatore said he expects the Council to hold all departments accountable.
“The data that will be presented to the Council's Finance Committee in the near future will paint a clearer picture of overtime spending in our public safety departments,” Salvatore said. “The Council is committed to monitoring this situation closely and holding all City departments accountable for their budgets.”
Paul Doughty, the president of the firefighters' union, did not respond to a request for comment.
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Comments:
donatello gori
7:47am on Friday, January 27, 2012
The City should hire substitute police and fire like the school dept does. These individuals would have the same training but, will be on call when needed. Police and fire would be able to monitor their perfomance and evaluate them. As openings come available, they can apply. This is a good way to save $$ by paying a reduced per diem rate. You also prevent poor perfoming individuals from getting on full time.
pearl fanch
8:26am on Friday, January 27, 2012
Of course they do. They are thieves and have been getting away with it for years. It's been written about many times, and nothing is ever done.
City officials will keep signing ridiculous contracts with the unions, and it will never change.
it's not only in Providence. I know it happens in NP also, and I'm sure many other places.
Keep electing the same ole Democrats.
Christopher Lee
9:08am on Friday, January 27, 2012
What a racket. Firefighters ought to be ashamed of themselves. People are getting taxed out of their homes and businesses, but the firefighters don't care. And administrators are impotent in dealing with the problem. The mayor and city council members need to be relegated to mere advisers because it appears they cannot solve this problem. Unfortunately, it appears bankruptcy is the only solution. It's going to take a Judge Flanders to solve Providence's problems.
Mike Govern
10:11am on Friday, January 27, 2012
Why don't we privatize the FD? THis bureacracy has grown so corrupt over the last decade taht it may not be salvageable. Disability fraud, sick day abuse, BS Overtime provisions, and so forth.
Robert MacLoughlin
11:08am on Friday, January 27, 2012
It think the city got hoodwinked by Paul Doughty he is a clown he totally pulled it over on this administration I think they should go back to the table and negotiate a contratc that works for the taxpayers not the firefighters
David Beagle
11:34am on Friday, January 27, 2012
Better keep the National Guard on call if there is to be ANY legtiimate action taken against this overtime problem. Another example of the tail wagging the dog. The dog has OBVIOUSLY been neutered.
Bruce Gauvin
12:05pm on Friday, January 27, 2012
Before you say another word about firefighters, maybe you should try on the uniform. Overtime is a predicament created by the city...I'm sure you keyboard commandos would turn down overtime if it was offered to you. Check out what a cop makes (unlimited paid details + OT) before you direct all your ire at the firefighters.
Dave Barry
12:31pm on Friday, January 27, 2012
Every fire department in RI pulls this crap. If Go Local or Pro Jo or any competent investigative reporter did an analysis of FD overtime, they would discover what a racket it is. They exist for it.
vinny coia
12:50pm on Friday, January 27, 2012
throughout the state , ot will continue for all paid fire departments until the ga addresses the minimum manning scam forced upon municipalities .
it is even more difficult for small municipalities , ie, narragansett, where very little
demand for fire calls occur and the dept. members routinely gross with their
ot in excess of a hundred thousand annually . narra . just geographically does less in a month than pfd does in a day . privatize the ems . no municipality can cut expenses until the ga repeals minimum manning and some common sense is applied to covrage. this does not even seem to be a topic this session .
Pam Thomas
2:28pm on Friday, January 27, 2012
This is particularly interesting in view of the Journal's story yesterday indicating that only 10 percent of the emergency vehicles you see on the street (not private ambulances) are transporting actual emergency patients to the ER -- the rest are transporting chronically ill folks, mostly drunks, to the ER again and again. A panel is looking into how to change procedures so that this enormous waste of money in both the health system and municipalities' fire departments can be prevented.
pearl fanch
3:12pm on Friday, January 27, 2012
Bruce, stuff it!! YOU firefighters have the easiest job in the world. You sit on your azzes all day, watching movies, shooting pool or making dinner. I've worked in many fire houses throughout New England, so don't try and tell me different.
It doesn't matter how much investigative reporting takes place. This is a known fact that this type of corruption takes place each and every day, and not one single thing has ever been done about it.
Don't you people get it? Unions and the democratic elected officials are all in bed together, and they're screwing the taxpayers. The unions won't allow it to change. The politicians will do whatever the union wants. End of story.
You want something different, vote in a different party. Until then, it will A L W A Y S be the same!!!!
Bruce Gauvin
5:08pm on Friday, January 27, 2012
What exactly did you do for work in those firehouses all over New England? Nobody named pearl fanch ever worked in a Providence firehouse...stuffing it!!!
Odd Job
6:18pm on Friday, January 27, 2012
Put them on salary. They are professionals right?
Gary Arnold
7:31pm on Friday, January 27, 2012
Let's just say its legal robbery. They have contracts that were signed off by politicians that know nothing about money other than if they gave the UNIONs a raise they knew it would give them a raise, we now know who the politicians were representing and many are still doing the same thing.
This is such a known way for the fire and police to stick it to the towns and cities that it is the same as a protection racket that the hoods use. It is no more of a requirement than authorized theft by the UNIONs and mostly past politicians who are still active in other positions or on retirement in FL. That was the way it was done, the politicians and the UNIONs made their deals in secret, just like they do now come to think of it.
Hey, maybe that is the answer, we need to have public contract terms voted on by the citizens, now wouldn’t that be a game changer, think about it.
How about we question the legality of the contracts as being negotiated in bad faith by incompetent financial people, people that had no understanding of how these contracts would continue to escalate and have no real performance and accountability factors from independent oversight.
Time to change and put the fire UNIONs out and the cops UNIONs on ice.
pearl fanch
10:25am on Saturday, January 28, 2012
Bruce, I'm a contractor who worked on repairing many fire stations. Actually, I've worked on 6 in providence alone. I'd work in each building for approximately 6-8 weeks at a time. In that time, I witnessed alot.
The guys were usually a great bunch of guys to clown around with, but don't EVER try and convince anyone that you guys work hard.
That's a joke.
Bruce Gauvin
12:45pm on Saturday, January 28, 2012
Pearl, what you DON’T know doesn’t surprise me. In all the time you’ve spent working as a contractor in fire stations; did you ever go on a run with the firefighters? As the Providence FD responds to well over 40,000 calls per year, there were ample opportunities. What you saw in the firehouses is the same anywhere in the world. When not responding and in the firehouse, firefighters are paid to maintain the building, equipment, and themselves (training, inspections, etc.) to a state of readiness. I can assure you that the only “clowning” around you saw was confined to the four walls because when they hit the streets it’s all business. Firefighters seldom see people having a good day, they’re more likely to be experiencing the worst day of their lives. There’s a lot of emotion involved on the job from what you see and experience. The “clowning” around you saw relieves the emotion and develops the comradeship necessary to function as a team, a team whose lives may depend on each other at any time. Until you’ve donned 75+ pounds of protective gear and worked in the hot, dark, smoky, and sometimes terrifying confines of a burning building, don’t comment. Until you’ve gone on an EMS call and been exposed to who knows what while you hope and pray you don’t bring it home to your family, don’t comment. I’m not talking about the flu, but other nasty things like hepatitis, TB, and HIV to name a few. The people who protect you…firefighters, police officers, soldiers, etc…are not fighting fires, arresting criminals, or in battle 24/7. Rest assured these same folks will WORK tirelessly and give their own lives to protect and save yours, even if you don’t appreciate their existence.
pearl fanch
2:45pm on Saturday, January 28, 2012
First off, I've never criticized a firefighter for how they behave on a call. I'm sure most, if not all, are professional and trained. That was never a dispute of mine.
However, as a contractor maintaining their buildings, (the thought of them maintaining is laughable) I simply explained what I witnessed. In the course of a 9 hr work day of mine, what I witness is them sitting around watching movies, shooting pool and cooking the next meal. In the course of a week, I might see the trucks leave the fire station once, maybe twice in a week.....while I was there.
Their jobs are NOT difficult. Get that thought completely out of your head.
This article is able firefighters and policemen STEALING from the taxpayer. There's no defense for that. Game, set, match!!
Bruce Gauvin
4:21pm on Saturday, January 28, 2012
What there's no defense for is your ignorance of what firefighters and police do for a living. As for stealing from the taxpayer, do some research and find out how often these folks are ORDERED into overtime shifts. As you would say...game, set, match...i'm done arguing with a keyboard coward hiding behind a screen name.
Gary Arnold
10:44pm on Saturday, January 28, 2012
Are they ordered to take sick days so their buddies have to fill in at time and a half, you union guys are all the same, squeeze it for all its worth. Don't compare yourselves to being on the same level as military in the line of duty during fighting. As far as I can see, you are too concerned about your working conditions, get out of it and join the real fight for your life in the private sector.
I know plenty of people in fire and police and teachers and they are embarrassed with the union talk and contracts.
By the way, I have seen emotion run high with fire fighters, especially when they gather to picket or protest against someone taking them to task or not agreeing with their work ethics.
You are working a job, you can be replaced and hopefully you will realize that you and your union are not selling us on what you get paid, benefits and COLAs, we have had it with your union talk