How did no one notice when the firefighters overtime budget dwindled to zero?

As of the beginning of July, the fire department’s overtime budget was exhausted. It is at least the second year in a row that it has happened.

Police Chief Dan Collins said most of the overtime was used on training, meetings and fire station staffing. City officials said two years ago when the OT budget was set, former Fire Chief Mike Monge was retiring and Collins was just taking over, but no one balked at the OT figure.

Last year, Collins was firmly in charge but the budget again was not adjusted.

In no other place (except the federal government, sadly) are budgets alllowed to be spent out of balance, and that holds true with the city of Faribault as well. Since the fire department is out of overtime money, if any further OT is worked, the money to pay for it will likely come from money budgeted for supplies and services; it would cut into spending on minor equipment repair or the purchase of tools.

The fact that the budget for overtime ran out not once but twice in two years is an obvious signal — something is wrong. Without knowledge of all the details, one has to wonder if all the training and staffing that caused the OT is really necessary or, if it is necessary, whether the budget and staffing need to be built in to the budget to begin with.

Either way, the fire department budget requires some scrutiny and some tough decisions, so next year its supplies and services budget doesn’t get unnecessarily pillaged to pay for overtime.