Butler’s mayor is concerned with the city budget, particularly overtime hours.

Mayor Tom Donaldson at city council’s Tuesday night meeting said he asked each department head last week for an overtime report and expressed concern about the numbers.

The mayor said overtime hours for the fire department cost $14,000 last month, pointing out that number would equate to being $80,000 over budget for the year if it continued every month.

However, fire Chief Nick Ban said after the meeting the mayor was incorrect in his calculations because the $14,000 also included the final two weeks of December, a span with the Christmas and New Year’s holidays.

Ban said the real cost of overtime for the department in January was a little more than $8,100, slightly less than the monthly average in 2013. The 19 firefighters took a combined 39 vacation, sick and personal days last month.

The number of days off the firefighters are entitled to is determined in their contract with the city.

Ban said the need for overtime hours comes from the requirement the city must have four firefighters on duty at all times. Whenever a firefighter takes a vacation or sick day, the department must fill the shift with an overtime paid worker.

The city has $95,000 budgeted this year for overtime pay for the fire department.

Regardless of how much the fire department may cost in overtime in the upcoming months, the issue led to further discussion on the city’s finances from council members.

“We’ve been kicking the can down the road, but eventually we’re going to run out of road,” Councilman Richard Schontz Jr. said of the city’s money. “We’re on very thin ice financially.”

Schontz said city officials have been devoting much of their focus during the past several months getting the Centre City development ready to be built downtown, and now they need to shift their attention to city finances.

“Financially we can’t afford to increase spending,” he said. “What we do today will influence tomorrow.”

The city has a $7.6 million budget this year, slightly less than the $7.8 million budget in 2013.

But Councilman Kathy Kline said a tight budget is nothing new for the city.

“We’ve been having this conversation for more than two years,” she said.

Councilman Cheri Scott said the city needs to live within its means until it starts to receive tax revenue in April.

“If it’s not essential, we can’t afford it,” she said. “Sometimes you have to wear your shoes a couple extra months.”

Monthly overtime reports have not been typically requested in the past, although some of the department reports included overtime hours. Donaldson said he asked for them so he could better understand what the city is spending money on.

“We need to do a better job keeping track of our expenses,” he said.

Donaldson was elected in November and just took office in January.

The city streets and parks departments are both approaching the total overtime hours they had last winter due to the constant snow and freezing conditions this winter.

Schontz said despite the winter, he doesn’t think the overtime pay will go over what is budgeted for the year.

“Unless we get an early snow this fall,” Donaldson responded.