Winnipeg is running on overtime and you are at risk

Winnipeg is running on overtime. It is not a figure of speech. It is a fact. And when a city runs on overtime, it doesn’t just cost more money, it puts lives at risk.

Since Mayor Scott Gillingham was elected, property taxes have climbed nearly 30 percent. The promise was that those increases were necessary to protect services. Yet we see fewer services, slower response times, and critical departments stretched to the breaking point. So where did the money go? We know councillors gave themselves raises every year. They almost doubled their expense accounts. But core services, the things residents rely on to survive and get to work, are being hollowed out.

The City has relied for years on something they call vacancy management. In business terms, it means they plan not to fill jobs and then pretend that is savings. But those unfilled jobs don’t go away. In emergency services, transit, and other key departments, that means relying on overtime. Anyone who has ever run a company knows that is not a sustainable plan. You might save a few dollars on paper, but in practice, you pay far more in overtime and burnout. When I was a city councillor, I pushed back every budget season against this trick. It was presented as fiscal responsibility. In reality, it was a gamble with public safety. And today, the gamble is being lost.

After I wrote recently about fire trucks sitting idle for lack of staff, a Winnipeg firefighter–paramedic wrote me an email. He put it plainly: “I appreciate you calling out the city for buying a new TV while the roof is leaking. I work for WFPS as an ambulance-based paramedic. I encourage you to look at ambulance staffing as you have in the past. A few nights ago, 10 of 19 overnight ambulances were offline. The ambulance service was operating at 45%.”

Think about that. More than half of the city’s ambulances are unavailable. Imagine your father has a heart attack, your grandmother a stroke, or your child a severe asthma attack. Now imagine you are told an ambulance will be delayed, not because one isn’t nearby, but because it doesn’t exist that night.

This paramedic continued: “It gets stressful when you can’t respond to people who need you. The only solace that I get in these moments is that no matter how busy it gets, I can only respond to one emergency at a time. Which also means that when I’m managing someone with a UTI, which can have antibiotics prescribed by a pharmacist, because they have insurance so they might as well use it, I can’t respond to your father’s heart attack down the street. Or your grandmother’s stroke. Or your child’s asthma attack. The calls keep coming but they only pile up in the queue.”

This is the definition of a system in crisis. It hasn’t collapsed entirely, only because paramedics are working mountains of overtime. He explained: “The system has yet to completely cave in upon itself, currently being held up by the vast amount of overtime that paramedics like myself are putting in. Getting thanked only by our colleagues for coming in to help their shift.” But that is not a solution. That is desperation. People can only carry that burden for so long.

He also made clear what many employees feel: “We are currently waiting on an arbitrator to help settle our contract negotiations. This political game by the city is only to be able to turn around to the province, and tell them that because of the binding arbitration, they have to pay. We are giving it our all,=-\ and the city is kicking the can down the road. Morale is at an all-time low, and this shows us what little value we have to the city. Citizens have no clue how close they, or their loved ones are to a critical negative outcome.” That warning should ring in every councillor’s ear. Citizens have no clue how close we are to tragedy.

As a councillor, I pressed the Fire Chief on why Winnipeg had so few ambulances and why more weren’t part of the city’s master plan. The reality is the number of units on the street hasn’t grown in more than twenty years, even as the population has. The exchange I had with the Chief says it all. The video is available with this piece, and it shows exactly how long this issue has been ignored.

Another employee letter opened my eyes to a different side of the same crisis, Transit. “Transit is about to step into September with full runs and not enough staff to drive all those buses. As every year, the overtime costs will skyrocket in that department too. Most of the supervisors and all the new safety officers are promoted bus drivers. They have no effect on safety as you well stated, they should be driving the buses.”

This employee pointed to the City’s own compensation disclosure as proof: “When you see ‘Transit Operator Joe Smith — $124,000’ you know they’ve been doing a lot of overtime. At their hourly rate a driver not doing OT will gross about $65,000 per year. The disclosure document this year reveals no shortage of bus drivers making well over the minimum $85,000 to get on the list.” So again, the numbers tell the story. Drivers who should be earning $65,000 are making nearly double that because the City refuses to fill positions. This doesn’t just strain the budget. It means buses don’t run, routes get cut, and safety declines.

And as that letter reminded me: “The city also seems to have enough money around to give out money to non-profits and charities. Keep spending beyond their job to maintain core services, no wonder they have money issues.” When councillors are handing out grants while essential services fall apart, something is very wrong.

The pattern is obvious. When the City doesn’t fill jobs, it creates a crisis. Then it leans on overtime until employees are worn down. The costs rise, the services decline, and morale collapses. Meanwhile, councillors congratulate themselves on controlling costs, hand out grants for political points, and pad their own accounts. And sometimes, as we saw with a temporary fire station opened in Councillor Janice Lukes’ ward, exceptions are made when political alliances come into play. That station opened while other areas went without staff to run existing trucks. Residents can decide for themselves whether that timing is coincidence.

Every business leader knows you can’t ignore a vacancy. If you don’t fill the position, you pay overtime. If you don’t pay overtime, you reduce service. Either way, someone pays, either the taxpayer or the resident waiting for help. Winnipeg has chosen both, higher taxes and worse services.

We have the proof. We have letters from frontline staff, public compensation reports, budget documents, and countless examples. What we don’t have is leadership willing to admit the problem. Running a city on overtime isn’t a solution. It is a red flag. It tells you the system is sick, the leadership is weak, and the costs are spiralling. Winnipeg residents deserve better. They pay some of the highest property taxes in the country relative to income. They should not have to worry if an ambulance will come when their child can’t breathe.

The evidence is clear. The voices of employees are clear. The numbers are clear. A city running on overtime is a city at risk. And unless City Hall changes course, fills the jobs, fixes the system, and stops playing games, Winnipeggers will pay the ultimate price.

If you have evidence of mismanagement or questionable spending at the City of Winnipeg, contact me at kevin@kleinmedia.ca. We will keep your name confidential. Together, we can raise awareness about the issues we face and work towards finding solutions.