Excerpts from mystateline.com:
The Rockford Fire Department has racked up $1.2 million in overtime costs through July of 2016.
This comes as crews battled 18 house fires this year, which is just two shy of the 20 that is the year to year average. Chief Derek Bergsten says that’s not the main reason his department is projected to go nearly $1 million dollars over budget. He says unforeseen things like medical leave or even military leave are the biggest reasons, as many firefighters are working overtime to meet staffing requirements.
“We do reports on a weekly basis of what’s driving the overtime then we address it as best we can, if it’s something that is addressable,” Bergsten said at Monday night’s special city council meeting where aldermen were updated on the state of the 2016 budget. “When you have individuals that are injured our number one goal is to make sure they get healthy and they get back to work in a safe manor.”
