“These are unfunded mandates, nobody is paying for them except for the taxpayers and it’s about to come home to roost,” Corrigan said, adding that Central Coventry fought the overtime bill unsuccessfully when the legislation made its way through the House and Senate two years ago.
The 2019 mandate came in a largely overlooked sentence tacked on to the end of a bill requiring fire departments to pay overtime for any hours over 42 in a week. It reads: “For the purposes of this section, hours worked shall include all paid leave.”
“If I could end it I would, because we just can’t afford it,” Picozzi said, adding that he spoke Tuesday with Brian Daniels, executive director for the Rhode Island League of Cities and Towns, as the issue is now on the radar screen of all cities and towns in Rhode Island.