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Fire chief cites budget pressure after staffing reduction; chief and administration say change aims to curb overtime overspend
Summary
The fire department reduced daily minimum staffing from 19 to 17 on certain days to address overtime expenditures that had grown from a budgeted $600,000 to over $1 million; city officials said the reduction was a budget-driven step intended to be temporary, pending anticipated paramedic graduations in June.
Members of Newark’s personnel committee and the fire chief discussed a staffing change the department implemented after the chief reduced daily staffing on some shifts from 19 to 17 to help control overtime spending.
Council members said they received an external email about staffing changes without prior official notice and asked the chief and administration to explain. The chief said the department’s daily staffing model is 17 per day (as implemented) and that the decision was driven by sustainability concerns: overtime was budgeted at $600,000 for the year but forecast to exceed $1 million. The administration and chief said the change was made to reduce projected overtime costs and that 11 paramedics are expected to graduate in June, which could allow staffing to return to prior levels.
The chief and director said emergency service demand and rising costs make staffing and deployment a dynamic question and that other operational responsibilities constrain how staff are used. Committee members expressed concern about sudden communication to council and asked for better advance notice on future staffing changes. No formal council action was recorded; committee members said they would continue oversight and invited the chief and administration to bring staffing models and alternative options for review.
