The Joliet Fire Department spent almost its entire overtime budget in the first five months of the year, according to a staff report.
A 42 percent increase in sick days taken during the first six months of the year aggravated the spending, said the report, which was presented to the City Council’s Finance Committee on Tuesday.
Fire Chief Joe Formhals told the committee this week that the hiring of new firefighters, bringing the department back to full staffing, should reduce spending.
The fire department had spent about $1.6 million of a
$1.7 million overtime budget by the end of May, according to the report presented to the committee. The report, which only covered spending through May, noted the entire overtime budget likely would be depleted in June.