The Spokane Fire Department’s overtime budget was already drawing scrutiny from elected officials. Then, a pandemic happened.
The fire department is expected to close out 2020 about $3.5 million over its budget for overtime pay. It remains to be seen how much of the excess will be covered by state and federal pandemic assistance.
“We’re still almost double the cost, at this point, of our overtime that was budgeted from last year,” Spokane Fire Chief Brian Schaeffer said.
At $2.5 million, the 2020 overtime budget was a cause for concern among members of the Spokane City Council before COVID-19 hit.
Although the department has yet to close the books on 2020, the final overtime pay figure is expected to be about $6 million. For context, the department’s entire 2020 budget was about $54.5 million.