Staffing Shortage In SF Fire Dept. Leads To 6-Figure Overtime Paychecks For Some
SAN FRANCISCO (CBS/AP) -- Some San Francisco firefighters are raking in six-figure overtime paychecks because of staffing shortages that have department managers scheduling numerous extra shifts.
The San Francisco Chronicle reported that a lieutenant at Station 39 on Portola Avenue who collected $221,000 in overtime last year, raising his total salary to $363,000.
The newspaper reported that the Fire Department has already spent its $38 million overtime budget with two months to go in the fiscal year, and it's asking the Board of Supervisors to approve another $4.1 million.
Tom O'Connor, president of the firefighters union, told the Chronicle some firefighters put in hundreds of hours of overtime a year. He blamed chronic understaffing caused by the department's failure to fill 400 vacant positions.
Chief Joanne Hayes-White concedes that the current OT model is not sustainable.
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