NEWBURGH – Police and fire department overtime have collectively been over $1 million a year in the City of Newburgh and council members want to get a handle on the expense, which has typically exceeded the amount budgeted.
With that in mind, lawmakers want to spend $70,000 for a consultant professional audit of the two agencies.
Mayor Torrance Harvey said the council is also considering combined oversight of the two departments.
“We want to address those issues; we want to curb down that overtime in both the police and fire departments so that we can do a salary infusion and give these men and women competitive salaries so that we can stop that practice (of personnel taking higher-paying jobs elsewhere). The council has been in deliberation on reconsidering the public safety commissioner position,” he said.
It is believed creating that new post would keep the lid on the expense of overtime in the police and fire departments.
