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City's Overtime Bill May Be $50-140 Million Higher
By
Jen Chung
Published Aug 1, 2010
Modified Aug 1, 2010
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By
Jen Chung
Published Aug 1, 2010
Modified Aug 1, 2010
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The city tries to project what overtime costs will be, but apparently the projections are way off. The Daily News reports, "The city is set to bust its budget on overtime for cops, firefighters and other uniformed workers, spilling anywhere from $50 million to $140 million in red ink, fiscal monitors are warning." And the biggest chunk is from the NYPD, "with the department's overtime growing each year." Well, those street fairs aren't helping!
A state control board thinks the city's overtime bill will be $140 million higher than expected this fiscal year (it just started July 1), while City Comptroller John Liu thinks it'll be more like $96 million, "Historically, the city has consistently underbudgeted overtime projections at the beginning of the fiscal year. This is done as an effort to control overtime spending," but in the past six years, OT has cost 27-48% more. And State Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli thinks overtime will go over-budget by $50 million.
The News reports that NYPD has a plan to "reduce overtime at the precinct level instead of by controlling it from headquarters" but "logistical concerns" have forced it to start next year, not this year. The mayor's office told the News, "Every single year we have produced an on-time, balanced budget that includes covering all overtime expenses. The record speaks for itself." Earlier this year, Governor Paterson said there would no longer be overtime pay for state employees.
Tagged
city budget
nypd
overtime
Jen Chung
Jen Chung is a former WNYC and Gothamist editor.
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Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
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