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Fort Wayne chiefs tell council sick leave is a major driver of 2025 overtime costs
Summary
Fire Chief Eric Leahy and Assistant Chief Tim Sylvia told the Common Council committee that sick leave and minimum-staffing rules were the largest drivers of overtime in 2025, reporting roughly 44,000 fire non‑duty sick hours and 28,000 police non‑duty sick hours and millions in overtime costs.
Fire Chief Eric Leahy and Assistant Chief Tim Sylvia told the Fort Wayne Common Council on April 14 that sick leave — amplified by minimum staffing rules and hire‑backs — was the single largest driver of overtime costs for the city's public‑safety departments in 2025.
Leahy, the Fort Wayne Fire Department chief, said the department recorded about 44,000 non‑duty sick hours last year, which equated to roughly 118 hours per authorized sworn firefighter and “is close to about five 24‑hour shifts.” He told council the overtime dollars directly related to sick time for the fire department amounted to roughly $2,000,000, about 60% of the department’s overtime spending in 2025.
“This sick time is…
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