Committee looks to solve high public safety overtime costs

SAUGUS – Lower staffing levels may be to blame for high overtime costs on the Saugus police and fire departments, but Finance Committee members say hiring isn?t an easy answer.At a committee meeting Wednesday, Town Manager Scott Crabtree told members that public safety overtime should be one budget item to keep careful watch over with police officers and firefighters leaving for better-paying jobs.?We don?t have the staffing for police and fire that other communities do,” said Crabtree.According to Treasurer/Collector Wendy Hatch, the costs for public safety overtime from June 2012 to July 2013 was $765,000 for police and $484,000 for firefighters. From July to December 2013, the cost was $388,000 for police and $268,000 for fire.Even with a recent grant that awarded the department 10 more firefighters to start next week, Crabtree said the department would most likely see more overtime while the new firefighters are trained.Crabtree said the town was making use of the University of Massachusetts Collins Center capital plan analysis of the town to “code within payroll” to find out what triggers higher numbers of overtime pay with all departments, to get a “better service at a more efficient price.”?That?s what Finance Committee has been looking for for a long time,” said Chairman Robert Palleschi.However, committee members warned Crabtree that in the future, hiring would be met with resistance from the committee unless he balanced the budget with revenue. “It?s a matter of sustainability,” agreed Palleschi, nodding.Crabtree said he looked to economic development in the town to support future hires with more revenue.Related to public safety staffing, Crabtree added that the firefighter staffing grant may extend to pay for three years of salary instead of only two because some of the firefighters are military veterans.