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Fire chief warns overtime ballooning; department requests new quint aerial and proposes annual turnout‑gear capital fund
Summary
Chief outlined a $12.26 million operational budget and described personnel as the largest cost. He said overtime has run far above budget so far in 2025 and credited SAFER grant hires for reducing overtime; the department asked to plan for replacement of an aging Westside aerial (estimated $1.875 million) with a two‑year lead time.
Binghamton Fire Chief presented the department’s proposed 2026 budget to the finance committee on Sept. 30, telling councilors that personnel services comprise the majority of the roughly $12.26 million operational request and that the department faces persistent overtime pressure.
The chief said the department’s overtime expenditures were running roughly $895,000 year‑to‑date as of Sept. 14 — well above the adopted 2025 budget — and that the proposed 2026 overtime estimate (roughly $550,000) may be optimistic. He explained overtime drivers as largely contractual and caused by retirements, sick time, training, special events and multiple‑alarm…
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