The Fall River Police Department projects that it spent about $2.8 million on overtime in Fiscal 2026, which ended June 30.

 

The total includes payments to officers who cover others’ shifts, appear in court, conduct investigations or work special events.

 

It does not include holiday pay, weekend pay and shift premiums, which are typically paid for working nights. Those categories, combined, cost the department $1.98 million in the most recent fiscal year.

 

The department’s base payroll was $19,348,531. It listed 218 active sworn officers in city budget documents dated June 30.

 

That base payroll has crept up from $17,612,287 in the 2024 fiscal year. The cost of overtime and holiday, weekend and night shifts has remained fairly constant since then, rising slightly in the 2025 fiscal year and falling again in 2026.

 

“Overtime is part of the business because of the inability to always forecast what is going to happen,” he said.

Hoar said detectives had to be called in during the night to solve a recent armed robbery, resulting in overtime pay.

 

“We don’t halt investigations because we’re running out of overtime,” he said.

 

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