Statement: “There is a full time team of firefighters (or use to be) whose full time job is to schedule firefighter overtime to ensure EVERY fire house is adequately staffed. Much of this overtime was mandatory. The city opted to pay this over time in-lieu of hiring an additional 125+ firefighters to ensure minimum staffing standards. This was a financial decision made by the city’s management and saved the city millions of dollars over the years,” San Diego police officer Steve McMillan wrote last week on his blog called Sparky San Diego.
Analysis: McMillan’s blog post criticized Union-Tribune columnist Michael Stetz for blasting the city’s firefighter union on its new opposition to the city’s brown-out plan, which makes fewer fire engines available for regular duty.
Fact Check: Mandatory Overtime For Firefighters
['San_Diego']