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Rick,

I don't know where you got your number of 45 new firefighters but maybe you haven't seen this.

New firefighters haven't stemmed overtime

Posted Thursday, November 20, 2014 2:05 pm | 7 views

To the Editor:

For the past several years during the budget hearings, a small group of tenacious residents listened again and again as the Warwick Fire Department attempted to justify its cost escalations, particularly in the line item of overtime. The residents were told in 2012 that due to a $3.1 million federal grant a new firefighter school would be held and that approximately 20 new positions would be created on the department. The testimony from the chief, from the mayor and from the chief of staff indicated that the overtime would be dramatically reduced, if not eliminated, when the new hires were put on the job.

Several residents and council members questioned that in view of the fact that the $3.1 million grant was funding for the positions for two years only, where would this money come from in the future to pay these salaries and benefits? Would it come from the virtual taxpayer credit card swipe, or was there a plan in effect. As put forth so eloquently by the management team, the additional personnel would pay for themselves by the elimination of overtime, hence the funds being paid at the time would no longer be necessary as the city would have a full complement of firefighters.

How accurate was that testimony is the question? In the last few months, the same group of residents put forth a public records request to see exactly how much the new compliment of 20-plus firefighters has reduced the overtime. After weeks passing with no answers and no documents, we were told that we needed to pay $150 for the information that was requested, as it was such a monumental undertaking for the department.

Was that really true? Is it possible that these roadblocks were purposely put in place in an attempt to stop this two-page $150 document from being made public? You may be astonished by the numbers.

It seems that in Warwick we still have a lingering problem of abusive overtime as the document reveals that the WFD consumed 39,412.5 hours. Yes, you read this correctly. Say it out loud so you can understand it. Thirty-nine thousand four hundred 12 point five hours of overtime. Unfortunately, the document does not divulge the total dollar amount (we gladly would have paid another $75 for that page). Where are the savings? What I do find interesting is that number (39,412) happens to be just about the exact amount of hours required to fund 19 employees 40 hours a week for one year.

This problem continues and has been an ever-present issue as the Warwick Beacon article of 2006 describes, and there seems to be no end in sight. I believe that the residents deserve the breakdown for the past year, as was the case in the attached article.

Any resident that would like a copy of the documents can obtain them by contacting me at cartaxrevolt@aol.com.

Rob Cote

Warwick