Budget board flags EMS overtime and misc. municipal items for follow-up
March 03, 2026 | Lincoln, Providence County, Rhode Island
This article was created by AI summarizing key points discussed. AI makes mistakes, so for full details and context, please refer to the video of the full meeting. Please report any errors so we can fix them. Report an error »
During the March 3 meeting, Lincoln Budget Board members moved from school budgets to municipal items and focused significant attention on rescue/EMS overtime, public-works classifications and several other line-item anomalies.
Committee members repeatedly questioned why overtime for rescue/EMS has been well above the $300,000 budget in recent years. One member warned the line could reach double the budgeted amount and asked whether hiring additional staff would be more cost-effective than ongoing overtime. "We have to plan for it because we are going over it," a board member said. Staff replied that minimum manning, sick calls, military leave and injuries drove much of the overtime and that revenue from out-of-town runs only partially offsets the cost, noting reimbursement rates from other towns and insurers vary.
Members asked the administration to provide a staffing-vs-overtime analysis. "If that's something that you still have access to, if you could share that with us," one member said. Another suggested automating simple Excel checks to highlight large variances between prior-year actuals and current-year budgets so the board could focus on the highest-impact differences.
Public works flagged $36,000 in miscellaneous for an online service (click-fix) and an asset-management module; members suggested the account be reclassified to 'software' and asked whether the implementation fees are one-time or recurring. Other municipal topics included questions about the animal shelter budget that appears underbudgeted relative to historical spending and a request for a reconciliation of revolving funds and grants reported in different lines.
The board scheduled follow-ups: staff will supply a detailed breakdown of the Internet-service overrun, produce the requested reconciliation for the revolving fund, clarify the nature and term of public-works software charges, and locate prior rescue staffing studies. The meeting ended after approving administrative minutes and formal adjournment.
The board made a formal motion to approve the Feb. 26 minutes and later adjourned; both procedural motions passed by voice vote.
Committee members repeatedly questioned why overtime for rescue/EMS has been well above the $300,000 budget in recent years. One member warned the line could reach double the budgeted amount and asked whether hiring additional staff would be more cost-effective than ongoing overtime. "We have to plan for it because we are going over it," a board member said. Staff replied that minimum manning, sick calls, military leave and injuries drove much of the overtime and that revenue from out-of-town runs only partially offsets the cost, noting reimbursement rates from other towns and insurers vary.
Members asked the administration to provide a staffing-vs-overtime analysis. "If that's something that you still have access to, if you could share that with us," one member said. Another suggested automating simple Excel checks to highlight large variances between prior-year actuals and current-year budgets so the board could focus on the highest-impact differences.
Public works flagged $36,000 in miscellaneous for an online service (click-fix) and an asset-management module; members suggested the account be reclassified to 'software' and asked whether the implementation fees are one-time or recurring. Other municipal topics included questions about the animal shelter budget that appears underbudgeted relative to historical spending and a request for a reconciliation of revolving funds and grants reported in different lines.
The board scheduled follow-ups: staff will supply a detailed breakdown of the Internet-service overrun, produce the requested reconciliation for the revolving fund, clarify the nature and term of public-works software charges, and locate prior rescue staffing studies. The meeting ended after approving administrative minutes and formal adjournment.
The board made a formal motion to approve the Feb. 26 minutes and later adjourned; both procedural motions passed by voice vote.
Don't Miss a Word: See the Full Meeting!
Go beyond summaries. Unlock every video, transcript, and key insight with a Founder Membership.
✓
Get instant access to full meeting videos
✓
Search and clip any phrase from complete transcripts
✓
Receive AI-powered summaries & custom alerts
✓
Enjoy lifetime, unrestricted access to government data
30-day money-back guarantee
