Overtime at the Bellingham Fire Department is costing the city an extra $1.8 million a year, and city leaders want to know why.
On Monday, Feb. 27, city council members will get some answers. Fire Chief Bill Hewett will present a report meant to explain why overtime was over budget by $1.8 million in 2022 and has been trending upward since 2015.
Too few volunteers at Fire District 8, additional sick time and vacations, and an overall staff shortage all contribute, Hewett said. Also, with higher turnover at the department since 2020, firefighters have increasingly needed to assist with training when they would otherwise be working a shift at the station.
Fire District 8, based in Marietta, has been caught up in a national trend of declining volunteerism at fire stations, Hewett said in a six-page memo to council. The district, which joined the Bellingham Fire Department in 2016, was staffed at the time with eight professional firefighters and 30 volunteers.
More recently, the district hasn’t had enough volunteers to work shifts, Hewett said. To fill those seats, professionals must work overtime in some cases.
The city paid more than $600,000 for overtime to cover volunteer shifts at Fire District 8 in 2021, out of about $2.5 million in fire department overtime that year. The city only budgeted about $700,000 annually for OT in 2021 and 2022.
Vacation time has trended upward, too, as firefighters have gained seniority.
Hewett attributed a spike in sick leave since 2020 to COVID-19 and changes in state law. He added that the extra overtime may be causing additional sick days.
“As employees work more hours, they become fatigued and are more prone to illness and injury,” the chief said in his memo.
Currently, the fire department is 19 people short of its full complement of 165 firefighters, Hewett said in a Feb. 23 email. But the department has 22 people in training.
“When all allotted positions are filled with fully trained people, we should have the capacity to absorb normal sickness, injury or vacation leave,” Hewett said.
City council will hear Hewett’s report in a committee meeting at 1:30 p.m. Monday.
