Weather Forecast
59°, mostly cloudy
In several conversations with Ed Armstrong (retired Fire Chief), present Chief Jim McLaughlin, and several others I have learned that the overtime issue is not as bad as it previously looked. When Warwick hired the new 24 recruits their training hours were not listed on the budget spreadsheet. I asked why and was told that rather than make a new column entitled "training hours" they just added it to the "overtime hours" column. That was dumb. It made the Firefighters look like they were abusing the system. I saw paychecks at the end of 2015 that reflected under $1,000 in year-to-date overtime.
As a taxpayer, I don't want ANY overtime dollars going out but fair is fair. We never had as much overtime cost as we thought we had. Perception became reality and now that the training period has lapsed I believe we will see overtime shrinking further.
What I believe Warwick should do now, is look into the purchase of a new rescue. The present rescues make more than they cost. I believe a new rescue would generate more revenue than the cost of the vehicle, making it a win-win for the Taxpayers as well as the City.
Happy Spring everyone.
Rick Corrente
The Taxpayers Mayor
Please explain the inappropriate content below.
