Firefighting in Medford has sparked a review of overtime expenses, as city officials scrutinize a surge in sick leave that set the city back over $92,000 in just one weekend. An investigation was launched following the unusually high sick call-out rates among Medford firefighters during the first weekend of February, with 21 of 23 firefighters taking sick leave during their day shifts, subsequently causing a spike in overtime costs.
The common schedule for firefighters in Medford includes eight 24-hour shifts each month, however, the bulk of those who called in sick reported back to work for their night shift — a pattern that has drawn the concern of the city's leadership and prompted Mayor Breanna Lungo-Koehn to call the sick leave call outs an “orchestrated event” in an effort to ensure accountability, fiscal responsibility, and prevent recurrence of the incident while also recognizing the financial strain it places on the city's budget, with funds being diverted from key community services like schools and infrastructure.
During a five-day stretch from February 2 to February 6, the abnormally high amount of sick time taken led to a full staffing breakdown; this review shed light on the potential misuse of sick time that has contributed to overtime costs, a statement obtained by Medford’s official news site detailed the city's budgetary concerns. City Council President Isaac B. "Zac" Bears has echoed these concerns and reassured the commitment of the City Council to ensuring responsible use of public funds during future budget discussions.
Overtime costs, which climbed over $58,000 during the questioned period, have put a strain on Medford’s budget and have led to an outcry for stricter oversight of sick leave and coverage policies, the cascading effect mentioned by Mayor Lungo-Koehn, notwithstanding this revelation, has bolstered the need for better management to prioritize the allocation of funds for crucial city-wide projects and services.
