Fire Department Overtime Audit

At a glance

What: City Auditor report AU24-016 on San Antonio Fire Department uniformed employee overtime.
Where it stands: Accepted by the Audit Committee September 2, 2026, 3-0 (Whyte moved, Meza Gonzalez seconded; two citizen members absent).
Next: A second overtime audit is underway.

The audit found overtime rose from $26.3 million in FY 2019 to a peak of $44.2 million in FY 2021 and $37.0 million in FY 2023 (40.8 percent above FY 2019), driven by absences, sick leave, light duty and line of duty leave, and new programs added without staffing; it also identified timekeeping practices without clear policies that could be considered abusive.
Villagomez said she requested the audit; the practice of paying overtime before 40 hours when a firefighter volunteers at another station is a collective bargaining limitation, but the City added a doctor's note requirement for sick leave. Frausto said the department accepted all recommendations, tightened sick leave oversight and system access, saved $1.5 million, and added positions for training, recruiting and school programs; eight positions are proposed for FY 2027.
Meza Gonzalez asked that the follow-up audit focus on cost, raised 30 employees with more than 5,000 hours of leave (Frausto: mostly line of duty or injury) and asked about the Telestaff scheduling system. Viagran stressed firefighters' mental health. Whyte wanted the new guardrails verified. The committee met in executive session from 11:40 to 11:46 AM; no action was taken.

Report accepted 3-0.