Newburgh seeks to reduce emergency services overtime costs

NEWBURGH – City officials are looking for ways to reduce the high cost of police and fire department overtime in Newburgh.
In the city’s 2018 budget, officials anticipate “significant overtime reductions” of $424,430 for the police department and $321,860 for the fire department, said City Manager Michael Ciaravino.
In effort to hold the line on tax increases, the administration is “investigating how overtime is scheduled, approved and managed by our safety forces,” he said.
Ciaravino said the internal review does not involve state civil service or the district attorney’s office. “As part of our comprehensive review we are also examining the subpoena process which includes the subpoenas issued by the Orange County DA as possible additional cost saving opportunity.”