PHILLIPSTON – At its meeting on Aug. 21, the Selectboard reviewed potential changes to the policy governing overtime pay for the police, fire and public works departments.

Board Chair Bernie Malouin said during the meeting that he had received a letter from a constituent concerned about the amount of overtime the town was paying out.

According to the town’s personnel policy, full-time employees “called into work at times other than their normal working days or hours…will be paid a minimum of four hours of overtime” at one-and-a-half times their normal rate of pay. Part-time employees, or anyone who hasn’t worked 40 hours in a given week, will be paid four hours at their regular pay rate.

The Selectboard is considering reducing the number of hours for which workers will automatically receive the one-and-a-half rate of pay. Under the proposal, anyone called in between the hours of 3 p.m. and 11 p.m. would get two hours of overtime, while anyone called in between 11 p.m. and 4 a.m. would receive three hours of overtime. On-call firefighters would receive two or three hours of overtime, respectively, if called in during evening or overnight hours.

Public Works Director Rick Tenney told the board he had spoken with other departments in nearby towns, and learned that the general practice is four hours, regardless of when they are called in.

“You get taken away from your families, you get taken away from personal time,” Tenney said. “Bernie has said many times we have a life outside the Town of Phillipston. Even though you might only come in and work two hours, two-and-a-half hours, that extra 40 or 50 bucks you get is a ‘thank you’ for coming in and working after hours. That’s not part of your normal work schedule.”

Tenney added that one town he checked with pays a minimum of three hours for overtime calls, “but they have a ton of other benefits that we don’t get. We have a very simple policy with what we get here. Two hours, I think, is ridiculous. I think you’re not showing any appreciation for the crew, whether it’s fire, highway, PD.”

Finance Committee member Ruth French described the overtime paid by the Fire Department as “outrageous,” estimating it to be approximately $20,000 more than that paid by the Highway Department.

“We just had this conversation in the Finance Committee, and I do believe that the Fire Department is milking some of those hours,” French said. “Whether they’re called out for a call that’s only half an hour, even if it’s an hour, they get four hours. I’d like to see the Fire Department at least down to two hours.”

Fire Chief Jeff Parker took exception to French’s comments.

“First of all, the Fire Department’s not milking anything. If we get called by dispatch for a reported motor vehicle accident and it gets canceled before we get to the station, I’m fine with that being an hour (of overtime). That’s the responsible way to deal with that for the Town of Phillipston. Now, if we get to the station and we’re actually responding – usually to Templeton or Athol, wherever it is – then we’re further into a call, that’s when we’re committing ourselves.”

Parker clarified that on-call firefighters receive a minimum of two hours of regular pay, regardless of when they are called in, including weekends and holidays. Full-timers are currently paid four hours at time-and-a-half when they work more than the regular 40 hours per week.

At present, Phillipston’s Highway Department has three full-time employees, including Tenney. The Police Department has three full-timers, but that number will increase to four once a new police chief is hired. The Fire Department has two full-time employees and Parker is part-time.

The Selectboard is expected to vote on the overtime policy at its next meeting on Wednesday, Sept. 4.

Greg Vine can be reached at gvineadn@aol.com.