Wilmington Police, Fire overtime tops $3 million

Overtime spending of more than $3 million by Wilmington Police and Fire departments this year frustrated City Council members at the final budget hearing Wednesday night.

“It seems like they always come in budgeting less and then every year they go over budget,” said Councilman Bud Freel, chairman of the Finance Committee.

The rising expenses have Police Chief Bobby Cummings and Fire Chief Anthony Goode promising that next year will be different as additional management and oversight is put in place.

The Police Department has spent $2.2 million since July 1 on overtime costs, $221,000 over budget with three months left to go in the fiscal year that ends June 30.  Fire overtime is $601,000 over budget with $851,000 spent on extra shifts.

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Cummings said overtime pay will be better monitored in the next fiscal year, which begins on July 1, because the department will have a new payroll system in place to allow for real-time analysis of how much of the overtime budget has already been expended.

“We will be monitoring that a whole lot more closely,” he said.

“Right now we are working with an antiquated system,” said Cummings, who said supervisors have to tally the amount spent on extra hours themselves, rather than having a computerized system run a report.

He said the new system should be in place before July 1.

But Freel said while he is hopeful that the new system will lead to better management, he isn’t holding his breath.

“Every year we go through this issue and you sat here and listened to them explain it, it is like it is the first time they are dealing with this issue,” Freel said. “At this point they should have their hands around this issue.”

A new recruit class is being assembled and new officers should graduate by February, said Cummings, which will reduce the reliance of overtime.

Councilwoman Loretta Walsh and Councilman Justen Wright raised concerns about the sort of functions that officers are doing on overtime assignments, such as attending community meetings or walking foot patrols.

“If a captain attends a civic association meeting, that is overtime?” Wright asked, gasping when Cummings answered, “Yes.”

Freel said he would rather that the departments present a budget with the amount of overtime they actually think they will spend with historical data to back it up.

Goode said the Fire Department will continue to use Conditional Company Closures, a system that takes a fire truck out of service if more than two firefighters are out sick or unable to come into work on a particular day, to keep overtime low.

Starting in July, Goode said he will better manage the use of those closures, to keep overtime spending even throughout the year.

“I’m not in complete agreement with closing companies, but we have to do what is right for the city fiscally,” said Goode.

The hearing marked the end of the council’s public budget process. Freel said he hopes to have a final budget that can be finalized at the council meeting on May 19.

A few changes could be included in the new budget, but Freel said he will be in talks with the administration about those. One is to include funding for a citywide operational review or efficiency audit to look at each department to determine which positions, preferably vacant ones, can be eliminated.

“We have to find some additional savings,” Freel said. “We can’t continue going the way we are going now. We know that our work force is too high.”

Contact Jenna Pizzi at jpizzi@delawareonline.com or (302) 324-2837. Follow her on Twitter @JennaPizzi.