The City of Norwich held their common council and joint committee meeting on a Zoom conference call, during which they discussed solutions to the Fire Departments need for more man power. (Photo by Catherine Sasso)

NORWICH – On Tuesday night, the City of Norwich Common Council met via a Zoom conference call to hold the monthly joint committee and common council meetings.

When discussing the city’s budget Alderman Robert Jeffery raised a concern for how the city will pay for the Norwich Fire Department’s excess of overtime.

“I know we’re going through a crisis, I know there’s a lot of man hours being put in. We’re getting a lot of calls. We need to start planning,” said Jeffery. “By the end of December we could be looking at an excess of $200,000 in the hole.”

Jeffery requested the council look at the budget and create a plan for the future, with the anticipation that the fire department’s overtime will exceed the city’s budget.

“I’m just starting to wonder where we’re going to get the additional money for overtime. I understand what it’s being used for and why. I just think this year’s budget with everything going on, we’re going to have to start planning where we can find money to either cover that or find other ways to just reallocate and move funds,” said Jeffery.