OT hours on fire for Warren Fire Department

Increase attributed lack of personnel

WARREN -- Straight overtime paid to the fire department uniform division was the most doled out to any city department in 2023, totaling $347,763, according to city documents.

The overtime paid to Warren's fire uniform division in 2023 increased sharply from the year prior when those employees earned $265,008, according to year to date expenditures.

Several different reasons exist as to why the overtime totals have fluctuated over the past four years. Warren fire Chief Ken Nussle and Safety / Service Director Eddie Colbert said vacation time, sick time and staffing issues all have contributed to the amount that is submitted each year. While it may be up this year, it could be down a year later.

Nussle said the department seeks to maintain a roster of 60 firefighters, with a minimum staffing requirement of 14 per shift.

"That would be eight at central, and that includes the dispatcher, and then there's three at each of our satellite stations," he said.

The fire chief said the department has been down "a couple people" and said there is one issue with the civil service test. Nussle said the department has exhausted a few entry-level civil service lists.

"That means we go through a list, and we don't get enough qualified candidates," Nussle said. "Then we have to make the announcement again and go through the whole process of advertising and giving the exam and then getting all of their certifications together and doing the polygraphs, the backgrounds, the interviews, drug testing. It just takes time to go through the process again."

Nussle said another reason for some increased overtime was because of firefighters taking time off.

Nussle said vacation time taken by those in the department is picked by seniority. He said there are "four slots" of time that the firefighters can choose to use their sick time and they can use personal time at will.

"We did have some situations where we had some extended sick leaves down here for various problems," Nussle said.

Colbert said Warren's firefighters earn vacation hours and sick hours every paycheck. He said those hours are provided through state laws and are not controlled by city contracts.

"When they choose to take their time, that's going to contribute to overtime," Colbert said "We do have some older guys on the fire department and they've built up a lot of (sick and vacation) time. When they use it, that contributes as well and there's really not a lot I can do about it."

Colbert said overtime numbers as shown on the city's budget alone do not provide the entire context of the fire department's situation.

"You can look at the overtime number ... and you can say 'OK, that's a big number.' So, how do we fix that? Do we hire five more employees? Then you do the math on hiring five more employees and you realize that's actually going to cost you $450,000 versus the overtime number," Colbert said.

The straight overtime expenditures of Warren Fire Department's uniform division fluctuated throughout the last several years.

In 2019, the fire department division finished with $150,715 in overtime expenditures. In 2020, it was $186,966, before increasing to $365,348 in 2021, the highest total in the past four years. However, it decreased in 2022 to $265,008.

Colbert said a variety of issues leads to some fluctuation in annual overtime expenditures.

"Whether it be staffing issues at the time, some of it if you go back to the 2020 and 2021 years, was COVID and the way I had them separated," he said. "If they worked at (station) 6, they had to always be at 6. If they worked at (station) 5, they had to always be at 5. Those kinds of things we knew would cause some issues but we were looking to protect them."

City council most recently approved an agreement with International Association of Firefighters Local 204 in June, according to newspaper archives.

The contract began in 2023 and runs through 2025. It includes pay increases in each of the years. At the time, Auditor Vince Flask said the raises are:

•   An assistant fire chief increased from $29.97 to $31.17 per hour in 2023; $31.79 in January 2024; $32.43 in July 2024; $33.08 in January 2025; and $33.74 in July 2025.

•   For captain, the increase was from $26.08 to $27.12 per hour in 2023; $27.67 in January 2024; $28.22 in July 2024; $28.78 in January 2025; and $29.36 in July 2025.

•   For lieutenant, the increase was from $22.66 to $23.57 per hour in 2023; $24.04 in January 2024; $24.52 in July 2024; $25.01 in January 2025, and $25.51 in July 2025.

•   For firefighters, the increase will be from $19.70 to $20.49 per hour in 2023; $20.90 in January 2024; $21.32 in July 2024; $21.74 in January 2025; and $22.18 in July 2025.

"We are diligent, we do put things in the contract to try to protect against the abuse of sick time and things of that sort that lead to overtime," Colbert said. "But we also know, with some of those numbers, you've got to look at the other side of it and say 'Hey, OK, so if you were to hire five more guys, that's probably going to cost you more than what you're paying in overtime.'"

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