Rhode Island Officials Detail Financial Changes for Bankrupt Fire District

State officials who now control the bankrupt Central Coventry Fire District have ordered sweeping changes in its finances.

Firefighters will work 56-hour weeks, pay more for health insurance and lose half their holidays under a receiver’s plan.

The Providence Journal reports that a plan detailed Monday says the district’s approximately 37 firefighters will receive overtime after they’ve worked 212 hours in four weeks. That’s the equivalent of more than five 40-hour workweeks.

Robert Flanders Jr. is the state-appointed bankruptcy counsel for the district. He says the changes are an attempt to run the district in a way that “makes more sense financially without compromising public safety.”

A lawyer for the receiver said the panel unsuccessfully tried to negotiate many changes with the district’s firefighters union. Negotiations are continuing.