South Shore Fire 2012 Overtime Could Go Over Budget by $300,000

After delivering the jaw-dropping , those figures have been adjusted. Now, new numbers from South Shore indicate that overtime will still be over budget, but the amount is closer to $300,000.

What's changed is that previous numbers missed what was already budgeted; specifically the $304,000 that's in the 2012 municipal budget and subtracting it from what was projected.

"The primary areas where we're seeing the overages are in workers' comp and in staffing Station 9," said Battalion Chief Jon Keiser at the Joint Fire/EMS Oversight Committee meeting Thursday in Sturtevant.

This also assumes that three fire fighters currently out of rotation because of injury return and stay healthy and that the rest of the department stays healthy as well.

"We will be about $300,000 over budget if everything as it is today stays the same," he confirmed.

After the May committee meeting, South Shore Fire Chief William Bouma, Keiser, Mount Pleasant Lead Accountant Vicki Matter, and Interim Administrator Ron Meyer met to hammer out some of the numbers and start working on a plan to get a better handle on the overtime situation.

How overtime got so high in the first place comes down, primarily, to staffing two full crews - six fire fighters - at the Sturtevant station at all times according to the 2009 consolidation agreement. From 2009 until this past February, Station Nine was staffed with one full crew - three fire fighters - for each shift because Sturtevant trustees were trying to work with Mount Pleasant's budget issues.

Last December, , saying Sturtevant wasn't going to pay its 2012 portion of department costs and would instead reduce its payment to the same level as 2010 unless staffing at the Sturtevant station fulfilled the 2009 consolidation contract.

since Feb. 20, hiring a new fire fighter and relying on overtime to pay to fully staff each shift. To fill in for vacations, illnesses and work-related injuries, South Shore also depends on overtime.

Rick McCluskey, chair of the committee, asked if South Shore has a plan to reign in spending, and Sturtevant Trustee John Johnson noted that it costs less to hire a full-time fire fighter than pay so much in overtime.

But Sturtevant Administrator Mark Janiuk said it's not committee members' jobs to dictate how Mount Pleasant spends their money.

"This committee should not address Mount Pleasant's plan to pay these amounts as long as staffing in Sturtevant continues to meet the contractual obligation established in 2009," he said.

Still, Meyer said finance department staff will meet again with Bouma and Keiser in the next couple of weeks so they can continue to work together on some solutions.

"We need to come up with a remedy or a way to mitigate the overtime overages for some cost savings," he stated.