Branford Approves Overtime Funds for Fire Department

By Jack Kramer, Correspondent

BRANFORD, CT – The Board of Finance recently approved transferring $35,000 from the Fire Department’s budget to pay firefighters overtime and extra costs for covering the shifts of a firefighter who retired last year.

The money is a wash, Chief Thomas Mahoney told the finance board at its January 30th meeting, because the extra costs incurred would have been paid to firefighter Paul Cipriani, who retired last year after serving the town of Branford for close to a half-century.

Mahoney said the department will be up to full staff, as of February 6th, as a new firefighter will be starting.

“I’m hoping the majority of that (extra cost and overtime money) will go away,” once the new firefighter starts, Mahoney told the board.

The board unanimously approved the expenditure.