When Columbus officials rolled out a plan to cut the number of paramedics on trucks responding to medical emergencies, they said it would save on the city Division of Fire’s bulging overtime budget.
Six months later, overtime in the division is on track to bust its budget for the sixth time in seven years and reach its highest level in years, but fire Chief Kevin O’Connor said the plan is working.
Without it, overtime might be even higher, he said.
The division is on pace to spend more than $10.5 million on overtime this year, according to a Dispatch analysis of payroll records, up from about $7.9 million in 2016. The city budgeted $6.9 million for overtime in 2017.