A state report breaks down overtime pay in Lincoln’s fire department, shows large disparities between base pay and overtime, and recommends a city performance audit of scheduling and staffing practices.
The department’s top 100 overtime earners averaged an extra $45,586 in overtime, bringing average total pay to about $160,000.
Lincoln Fire Chief David Engler said overtime reflects station openings, added medic units, leave, training, deployments, and contractually negotiated staffing and pay — and that overtime can sometimes be cheaper than hiring.
Nebraska's state auditor released a 15-page review showing Lincoln Fire and Rescue paid roughly $7.2 million in overtime during 2025. The report lists individual overtime and salary figures for the whole department and was sent to Lincoln Mayor Leirion Gaylor Baird and City Council chair Brodey Weber.
The auditor's review explains that most frontline personnel — about 87% of the force — are scheduled as 56-hour-per-week employees on a recurring 21-day cycle: alternating 24-hour shifts for 13 days, then eight consecutive days off. Under that schedule, firefighters automatically earn nine hours of overtime for their regular shifts. That built-in overtime amounted to more than $2 million in 2025, roughly 28% of total overtime paid.
State Auditor Mike Foley said the $7.2 million figure is "staggering" and recommended an objective performance audit of the department's scheduling strategy to identify potential taxpayer savings. Foley also criticized the city's municipal audit committee for apparent inactivity: the committee is required by municipal code to pick at least one annual performance audit and meet at least quarterly, but Foley says no audits have been selected in over a decade and the committee hasn't met since summer 2021.
Foley said taxpayers likely are unaware of the salary and overtime levels and that the costs matter to property taxes.
Lincoln Fire Chief David Engler acknowledged increased overtime and cited specific causes: opening new stations, placing more medic units into service, employee leave, required training, deployment obligations, and contractually negotiated staffing and pay increases. Engler said the department must provide reliable 24/7 emergency response and that overtime is sometimes more cost effective than adding permanent positions or outsourcing specialized work.
The report frames the overtime question as one of scheduling and labor policy that the city can study. A performance audit could examine whether alternative staffing models, different shift structures, or contract terms would lower overtime without undermining emergency response. The governance lapse Foley identified could hinder oversight until the municipal audit committee resumes regular meetings and selects subjects for review.
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