The Auburn City Council on Thursday approved budget transfers to cover shortfalls, including added overtime costs for the city's fire and police departments.聽
The largest budget transfer is $50,000 for the Auburn Police Department. According to the resolution, the funding was shifted to the department to pay overtime due to staffing shortages.聽
Auburn City Comptroller Mary Beth Leeson told the council that some of the positions will be filled during the remainder of the fiscal year, which runs through June 30.聽
For the Auburn Fire Department, $10,000 was moved from the fund balance to cover overtime pay.聽
The 2024-25 budget included $30,000 for the department's overtime, but that has been exhausted after nine house fires in the last year.聽
Auburn Fire Chief Mark Fritz said the average overtime costs for the typical house fire are under $3,000. When responding to a blaze, the department calls in 18 off-duty firefighters to assist while crews are at the fire.聽
The fatal house fire on Foote Street in December is what put the department over its overtime budget for the year. The overtime costs associated with that fire were more than $9,000.聽
"Any time we have a situation like that where we have a fatality, the process takes longer," Fritz said. "Everything from extinguishment to overhaul to investigation into the cause takes significantly longer."聽
If that was a routine fire with the usual costs, the budget transfer wouldn't be necessary.聽
The City Council voted 4-0 to approve the budget transfers.聽
Government reporter Robert Harding can be reached at (315) 664-4631 or robert.harding@lee.net. Follow him on X @RobertHarding.
