Collinsville has agreed to pay their firefighters $103,000 for wages not received after the city changed overtime rules for the fire department in June 2012.

The new policy required firefighters to remain on duty for the entire 2-3 hours of their on-call shift. Previously, firefighters called-in to cover on-duty staff who responded to an emergency were allowed to leave when the on-duty personnel returned. Those called in were paid for at least two hours, regardless of how long they worked.

The old procedure led to instances of a person leaving the station and getting called back within the two-hour period for which they were already being paid. They were then paid for an additional two-hour shift.

The new rule was intended to cut the city’s overtime expenses. City Manager Scott Williams said Collinsville paid approximately $375,000 per year in overtime to the fire department in each of the past three years.

After the policy change, members of the firefighters union filed approximately 579 separate grievances against the city asserting that the city had violated the overtime terms of the collective bargaining agreement between the city and the union. The city argued that the old practice, though followed since at least 1977, was in violation of the collective bargaining agreement. An arbitrator ruled in the union’s favor in July.

The two sides later reached a settlement agreement to pay the firefighters $103,000 of pay the union members did not receive as a result of the rules change. The City Council approved the settlement Monday.