Youngstown City Council members are to be commended for taking action in light of astronomically excessive 2024 overtime in the city’s police department that was first reported in this newspaper last month.

Specifically they are calling on state Auditor Keith Faber’s office to conduct a thorough performance audit of the city’s police department and fire department to ensure that residents’ tax dollars to support those safety services are being spent wisely, efficiently and responsibly.

We support that call to action and urge Faber to begin such an audit as expeditiously as possible. It is, after all, the responsibility of that office to provide state residents with independent and transparent examinations of how state and local governments use public funds and to develop strategies to make government operations, including police and fire services, more effective and fiscally responsible.

In their letter requesting the performance audit, council members specifically ask the state auditor to review how the two departments manage their resources, including equipment and vehicles; analyze staffing levels with a focus on staffing schedule and overtime practices; the management of contracts; and compliance with established policies and procedures.

Excessive overtime in the police department has risen as the lightning rod for the request for a deep dive into the city’s safety forces’ performance. Given staff writer David Skolnick’s Feb. 8 story on city police OT, excessive may be an understatement for the number of tax dollars funneled into premium pay.

In his report, Skolnick revealed that 15 city police officers each made more than $50,000 in overtime in 2024, with one getting $150,681 — more than twice his regular salary.

Collectively, the city dished out $3.25 million in overtime payments for the department in 2024, which was $1.25 million more than council had budgeted. Additionally, that overtime translated into more than $630,000 in pension payments by the city.

As city Councilman Julius Oliver, D-1st Ward, pointed out during a recent public discussion of the audit request, “It’s our responsibility to our constituents to get down to the nitty gritty of the numbers. We have what is called a shrinking city, but our two biggest budgets (police and fire) keep growing. For me, what I just really want to know is the money going to the appropriate places.”

But excessive overtime not only impacts budgetary bottom lines, studies have shown that it also can lead to decreased productivity, increased health problems, safety risks and burnout, impacting both individuals and organizations negatively. Given the critical importance of police officers’ roles in fighting crime on some of the mean streets of Youngstown, any of those side effects could negatively impact public safety.

As Councilman Pat Kelly, D-5th Ward, put it: “Sixteen-hour work days are unhealthy and unsafe.”

Police Chief Carl Davis meanwhile defends the overtime, attributing it to low staffing levels.

“Our number of officers has steadily declined in recent years, creating significant gaps that must be filled with overtime to maintain adequate police coverage. ”

Some on council have suggested more efficient scheduling and personnel management. It is our hope that Faber’s office can uncover strategies to lessen OT without endangering quality policing for the city’s 60,000 residents and tens of thousands of others who work in or frequent Youngstown.

As for the city’s fire department, we urge Faber and staff to look deeply into the impact of union-management tensions and the toll they may be taking on firefighters’ job performance.

There’s been a lengthy list of disputes between the fire union and Chief Barry Finley since his February 2018 appointment as chief, including about 50 grievances, a December 2019 vote of no-confidence, a number of unfair labor practices against the city and multiple lawsuits.

Late last year, that tension boiled over when Finley, who made racial remarks toward two union officials but then expressed regret when being investigated by city lawyers, was essentially cleared of any blatant wrongdoing and did not receive any punishment from the city administration.

Such a hostile work environment could very well lessen firefighters’ morale, and in turn, their performance in protecting city residents.

Then just last week, this newspaper reported that Finley works up to 31 hours weekly outside the realm of the fire department as an emergency medical services coordinator. A preliminary audit by Faber’s office concluded that there was no fraud evident in Finley’s dual employment because the chief is not required to work a set schedule as a management employee. Though Finley’s outside employment may indeed be perfectly legal, we’d hope a new performance audit would analyze any impact it possibly may have on the department’s overall delivery of services.

To be sure, we’re confident the overwhelming majority of Youngstown police and firefighters are dedicated to serving the needs of residents professionally and perform their duties well, but the stressors that clearly have been evident in both departments in recent years should be minimized or removed. It is our hope that a comprehensive performance audit need not cast blame but provide strategies for improved working conditions moving forward for all of those vital public servants.