Danville city council members approved an additional $270,000 payment to the Danville Fire Department to cover extra overtime costs.
Staffing and overtime have been an issue at the department the past few months due to COVID-19 and a high amount of fires over the summer.
Fire Chief Don McMasters says four firefighters have tested positive for COVID-19 and another is off-work after being exposed to the virus. In addition, one of the new probationary firefighters had to resign and a new person had to be hired.
McMasters says he has also spent more than $30,000 in workman’s compensation this year.
Mayor Rickey Williams Jr. says he believes the city should have budgeted more for department overtime than it did under guidance from the city’s previous comptroller.
Aldermen voted 10-2 approving the increased overtime amount. Aaron Troglia and Rick Strebing both voted against the measure, with Troglia questioning some of the department’s priorities and spending.
McMasters says some of the overtime should be eliminated by adding the new firefighters.
“As soon as they get down with academy, two of the three of them will immediately towards shift and will count toward manning which will take a tremendous amount of overtime away,” he says.
He says the third new firefighter should be on force by the end of the year.
