Too much overtime, for general duty work, has been the norm among many departments.
- Blog mention of overtime Police and Firefighters are upset with overtime and budget impacts in December 2005.
Platform.For-Pgh.org[]
Pad Retirement[]
Overtime costs the taxpayer as it occurs, plus for years to come.
After 9-11 the hours for those working in the security fields increased greatly. The Allegheny County Police who work at the Pittsburgh International Airport could work 60, 70, 80 hours per week if they wanted. These hours could be kept for months on end. Some of the highest paid in the county were police officers who were pulling tons of overtime hours. The workers' annual pay determines the value of their retirement checks. So, if a worker doubled or tripled the annual pay, those higher amounts are paid every year of retirement.
A few years ago, Pittsburgh Public Schools closed less than ten schools. But, the closing came at the end of the one school year, in May, and needed to take place by August. Student records, school equipment and other burdens were put upon the workers in the school to make the transitions from open buildings with students to closed buildings. Plus the existng buildings that had to absorb the new students were put under plenty of urgent stresses.
A lean staff faced with massive projects and new duties in very short amounts of time are going to need plenty of overtime hours.
To avoid overtime, we need to phase in projects. For example, the South Vo Tech school could have been closed over a three year period.
Links[]
Media[]
- http://kdka.com/topstories/local_story_032165025.html Firefighters in Pittsburgh overtime to be addressed by Ravenstahl, Feb 2007
- Overtime Hits City Hard article in the P-G in January, 2006
- Public Works gives extra money in the P-G and Councilman Motznik not happy at Costa, April 2006.
- Fire Overtime Causing O'Connor Staff Budget Issues
(KDKA - from August, 2006) PITTSBURGH While Mayor Bob O�Connor stays in the hospital with an uncertain medical future, his senior staff has been in a state of flux.
Now, the new-look O'Connor administration is facing its first budget crisis.
Next month, the O'Connor administration will need to give the state oversight committee a balanced budget and a five-year financial plan.
But recently the state rejected the administration's preliminary proposals.
One reason is the cost of fire protection in the city and an overtime budget which has spun out of control.
Last year, the city spent more than $12 million dollars on fire overtime and premium pay with 63 firefighters making more than $100,000.
Fire union president Joe King says he is not to blame.
�Not my fault. They got to fill the vacancies,� king said.
King says the fire bureau is under-staffed by more than 100 firefighters and in order to fulfill minimum staffing requirements at the station houses, the firefighters are being forced to work excessive amounts of overtime.
�To keep the station open they're working 65, 70, 75 hours a week,� King said. �These men and women are in the trenches everyday. They're getting burned out.
City finance director Scott Kunka says with a staff of 626, the city has as many firefighters as it needs. He says the minimum staffing provisions in the union's contract forces the city to pay overtime it doesn't want to pay.
�We have no ability to manage our workforce,� Kunka said. �There's a no layoff clause and we have a minimum staffing clause and that's where the premium pay comes from.�
The city will attempt to reopen the fire contract next year and try to reduce the minimum staffing requirements. In the meantime, it's grappling with a shortfall in revenue in other areas.
The city will get no gaming revenues this year since no slots license has been awarded in the state. And the $52 year occupation privilege tax may not reach its projection.
Still, Kunka says the administration will close the gap without a tax increase in the coming year.
"I believe the city will have a balanced budget for next year," Kunka said. "There are concerns for the out years. But I think for next year, we're going to be in good shape."
The city is hoping to reopen the fire contract next year.
For now, it has no plans of adding additional firefighters. It believes it's still cheaper to pay the overtime than to hire new ones.
While the administration believes it will be able to present balanced budget this year, they say greater challenges will come in the years ahead.