By Sam Wroblewski 630wpro.com

A watch dog group created by former candidate for Governor Ken Block is asking for donations to investigate the overtime costs of the Providence Fire Department.

WatchdogRI formed a Gofundme.com account and are asking for $1,500 to pay to the city of Providence to gain access to the documents pertaining to overtime costs. The group claims the city has said the records request could cost upwards of a thousand dollars.

Mayor Jorge Elorza drew attention to the issue of firefighter overtime saying unless platoon shift schedules were reformed.

“It is surprising to us that, given the city’s sharp focus on firefighter overtime costs, this data are not already in a form that is readily available. It is even more surprising that the City would place such a large financial burden on data which will not only provide transparency on this politically charged topic, but could also support the actions taken by Mayor Elorza.”

The group has already raised almost $200.