Fire, EMS spending way up

Since the fire chief was fired, as one reader keeps asking: “Has overtime gone back up?” (Keep in mind that Mayor Crystal Dingler hired Bathke, in part, to keep an eye on “excessive overtime,” according to Judge Settle’s background in the $750,000 suit Bathke won.) According to city financial records, in May 2018, when Bathke was running the ship, the year-to-date EMS overtime was $32,185; in May 2021, EMS year-to-date overtime was $35,126, about a 9% increase. In May 2018, Fire Department year-to-date overtime was $5,679; in May 2021, Fire Department year-to-date overtime was $6,198, curiously enough, also a 9% increase.

A bigger picture comes from total expenses.

In May 2018, Bathke’s EMS year-to-date operations were $858,888; in May 2021, EMS year-to-date operations spiked to $1,143,119 — a whopping 33% increase. But in 2018, the total budget for EMS was less than $2.5 million; over a two year period, EMS now has $6.3 million to spend, or $3.15 per year.

On the Fire Department side, in May 2018, year-to-date spending was $226,135; in May 2021, year-to-date spending jumped to $325,645 — a massive 44% increase. Again, the Fire Department total budget is much greater, from $740,000 in 2018 to $2 million 2021-22 ($1 million per year).

May 2018 

Emergency care

                        Year to date/appropriated/%

Total Salaries $414,074.26 $1,211,651.00 34.17% 

Total Overtime $32,185.55 $115,504.00 27.87% 

TOTAL EMS OPERATIONS 858,880.00 2,491,930.50 34.47% 

Fire

Total Salaries $102,189.54 $287,454.00 35.55% 

Total Overtime  $5,679.84 $20,383.00 27.87% 

TOTAL FIRE $226,135.67 $739,993.41 30.56%

May 2021

Emergency Care

Total Salaries $654,707.33 $3,325,232.00 19.69%

Total Overtime $35,126.19 $228,708.00 15.36%

TOTAL EMS OPERATIONS  1,143,119.01 6,332,007.36 18.05%

Fire

Total Salaries $147,475.93 $735,687.00 20.05%

Total Overtime $6,198.78 %40,360.00 15.36%

TOTAL FIRE $325,645.28 $2,035,521.42 16.00%