Elgin fire, police see overtime spending rise

ELGIN, Ill. (AP) - The police and fire departments in Elgin outspent their budgets in 2015 by more than $700,000 due to overtime costs.

According to the (Arlington Heights) Daily Herald (http://bit.ly/1sbPLuL ), the police department spent $2.43 million in overtime last year. One police officer almost doubled his salary to $169,000 by earning $about $75,000 in overtime.

The fire department's overtime bill was $1.72 million.

Officials said injuries, illnesses and retirements were partly to blame. They also said the city had long ago decided to spend more on overtime rather than increase staff.

Elgin Chief Financial Officer Debra Nawrocki says avoiding the additional benefit costs of adding employees makes it 15 percent cheaper to hire less and pay more overtime.

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Information from: Daily Herald, http://www.dailyherald.com