Overtime at the Vicksburg Fire Department has exceeded $800,000 with two pay periods remaining before the close of the 2015 fiscal year, Mayor George Flaggs Jr. said Wednesday.

Speaking to about 35 people at a town hall meeting at the Alcorn State University Vicksburg Branch at Pemberton Mall, Flaggs said as of Wednesday the fire department’s total overtime was $813,000 with about week left in the fiscal year, which ends Sept. 30.

He discussed the overtime situation while answering a question about the Board of Mayor and Aldermen’s plans to close Station No. 7 on Washington Street for eight months a year — from Feb. 1 to Sept. 30 — starting Feb. 1.

The board voted 2-1 Monday to close Station 7 and reassign the firefighters there to other stations as a way to cut overtime. North Ward Alderman Michael Mayfield opposed the closure, choosing a proposal by Fire Chief Charles Atkins to idle one of the pumpers at the Central Fire Station and reassign one firefighter to No. 7 to have three firefighters per shift.

The department’s overtime has been a source of contention between Flaggs and Atkins, who at times has accused Flaggs of trying to run the department.

“I’m not an enemy of the fire department,” Flaggs said. “I don’t question their service, but I believe it’s incumbent on me to get a cost savings. I’ve been accused of running the city like a business; I’m guilty.”

He said the decision would not affect the city’s fire insurance rating because Station 7 had a coverage overlap with Central Fire Station and Station 7.

Flaggs said the board’s decision was not final, adding he was open to other suggestions to reduce overtime costs.

“The proposal is to start Feb. 1. We’re not closing the doors today,” he said. “We’re waiting until Feb. 1. Bring me something that will result in a cost savings and I’ll listen. Don’t call me an enemy just because I look at the budget differently.”

He said Atkins’ proposal is still under consideration.

Flaggs said the fire department’s overtime problem puts a burden on the city’s budget, which provides salaries for 439 total employees.

“We have 139 employees that made less than one firefighter did in overtime, he said, citing an Aug. 10 analysis of city employee salaries that showed one firefighter made $26,506.11 in overtime pay, which was more than the basic salary of 139 city employees. Four other firefighters and paramedics with the city made from $17,508.20 to $20,775.51. The five employees were not named.

“If we reduced the overtime, we could increase the base pay,” he said. “I’m trying to stay in the numbers we’re paying for the service we’re providing. To get best service at lowest possible cost.”

Other topics addressed by Flaggs included:

• Flaggs said the $5 EPA fee that was added to city utility bills in the spring is used to cover the city’s costs of meeting the requirements under an Environmental Protection Agency consent decree with the city requiring it to evaluate, repair and replace its 108-year-old sewer system. The consent decree was reached in 2013 after an EPA survey found the city allowed raw sewage to get into local streams, including the Mississippi River.

• He said a sports complex for the city is coming, adding the city has received proposals from private developers interested in participating in the project to build the $20 million complex. He said a proposed referendum in a 2 percent food and beverage and hotel scheduled for mid-January will be pushed to a later date.