Civil service overtime<\/strong> is primarily driven by the staffing of special events and deployments to disaster sites across the state. This cost is often reimbursed by the state or event managers.<\/p>\n Emergency call back overtime<\/strong> is when an employee is forced to fulfill staffing requirements or called in to work in an emergency situation.\u00a0<\/p>\n Overtime 1.5 earnings<\/strong> are paid when an employee\u2019s time has converted to overtime, after they\u2019ve already worked the overtime built into their schedules.<\/p>\n Acting pay overtime<\/strong> is paid when an employee who has already worked over 40 hours that week serves in a role above their current rank.<\/p>\n Holiday overtime<\/strong> is required by the fire department\u2019s contract with the local union and is paid when employees work on holidays.<\/p>\n The fire department cost $219.3 million of the city\u2019s $2.79 billion budget during the last fiscal year, which ended in October. Of this, $196 million was used for salaries and benefits.<\/p>\n But to significantly reduce overtime expenses, the city needs to hire more personnel to meet minimum staffing requirements, Hill said. Such hires require approval from the local union representing firefighters.<\/p>\n It takes four people to staff a fire vehicle, and the fire department needs to employ enough staff to fill in for anyone who leaves for vacation, illness or personal reasons, he said. Hiring additional \u201crelief personnel\u201d would spread the burden of staffing stations across a larger team.<\/p>\n \u201cBut if you count vacation time, sick time, occupational and parental leave, the need is much greater than that 20%,\u201d he said. \u201cSo the average person takes more than 20% off.\u201d<\/p>\n Representatives from the Fort Worth Professional Firefighters Association, or Local 440, did not respond to requests for comment.<\/p>\n Hill said department officials are working to determine how many extra staffers are needed to fill short-term vacancies. City and union representatives are exploring the number in ongoing collective bargaining negotiations<\/a>, which started in September to update their contract.<\/p>\n \u201cSome fire departments have 30% of their staff as vacation relief, so we just need to find the average percentage of time that the individual is off, and then we hire to make sure that\u2019s filled,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n In seeking to hire more firefighters, Fort Worth would be fighting a national trend that sees cities struggling to attract new employees<\/a> to the industry. The number of career firefighters in the United States reached a low in 2020, according to the National Fire Protection Association, and cities across the country have continued to report staffing shortages<\/a>.<\/p>\n Horton noted that some overtime pay is reimbursed by the Texas Task Force Foundation<\/a> in cases where first responders are deployed to disaster sites. For example, because the city sent a team to Central Texas for search and rescue<\/a> after the devastating flooding in July, it\u2019s expecting the state to reimburse nearly $2 million in costs, according to city records.\u00a0<\/p>\n The overtime accrued during that deployment put the fire department less than 1% over budget in the fiscal year, Chief Transformation Officer Christianne Simmons, told City Council during a Jan. 6 work session.<\/p>\n Overtime pay for fire department staff assisting at private events is also reimbursed by the event managers, Horton noted.<\/p>\n EMS admin officer Heath Stone said reducing overtime plays into their larger efforts to be more mindful of first responders\u2019 mental health.\u00a0<\/p>\n Ensuring they don\u2019t get bogged down in the trauma and stress of the job is a priority, he said. Stone pointed to initiatives such as the department\u2019s counseling services and partnership with the American Warrior Association<\/a>, which aim to proactively address mental health issues common in first responders.\u00a0<\/p>\n Adequate staffing requires a \u201cdelicate balance\u201d between enough firefighters to cover for unexpected employee gaps and more people than are needed on a fire truck, Hill said.<\/p>\n \u201cPeople are gonna look at the overtime as nitty-gritty and ugly, but it\u2019s a necessity of the job,\u201d Stone said. \u201cIt\u2019s a beast of an animal in public safety, but it\u2019s needed. Somebody\u2019s gotta answer that call.\u201d<\/p>\n Drew Shaw is a government accountability reporter for the Fort Worth Report. Contact him at drew.shaw@fortworthreport.org<\/a> or @shawlings601<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n![\"chart](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/1767767832_207_thumbnail.jpeg\")
\nCity looks to reduce overtime costs<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/1752210131_683_FWFD_flood-1024x733.jpg\")
The Fort Worth Fire Department sent 17 firefighters to Central Texas to help with rescue and recovery efforts. (Courtesy photo | Fort Worth Fire Department)<\/p>\n