NORWICH – The number of hours of overtime at the Norwich Fire Department has been a topic of concern for many members of the Common Council, but information shared at Tuesday meeting of the Finance and Personnel Committee showed those numbers may be on the decline.

Dual Police and Fire Chief Joseph Angelino explained he and City Finance Director William Roberts had been examining the rate of overtime and their results looked promising.

“On May 12, our new part-time employees started,” Angelino said. “Since then, overtime hours have been significantly less.”

Roberts and Angelino examined different aspects of the department’s overtime rates, with Angelino discussing the hours of overtime worked, and Roberts addressing the dollar amounts.

Roberts compared current rates to last year’s numbers and determined that as of June 23, the department had spent less in regular pay and in overtime than it had in the previous year. “If current trends pay out, the regular pay may be $2,000 to $3,000 higher than last year, but overtime should be about $3,000 favorable (less than last year). Those figures could get better as utilization is better developed,” Roberts explained.