Q&A
Scrutiny of NYPD overtime spending and budget allocation
5:52:05
·
4 min
Council Member Brannan questions Director Jiha about the significant increase in NYPD overtime spending and the process of budgeting for it. Jiha defends the current approach, citing unpredictable events that affect overtime needs.
Key points:
- NYPD's overtime budget for FY24 has increased to $961 million, about 15% of the agency's total budget
- Brannan suggests that OMB intentionally underestimates NYPD overtime costs in the initial budget
- Jiha denies this, explaining that overtime needs are adjusted quarterly based on actual events and spending
- There is debate over whether NYPD is effectively getting a 'blank check' for overtime
- Jiha emphasizes the difficulty in predicting overtime needs due to unforeseen circumstances like protests
Justin Brannan
5:52:05
Alright.
5:52:05
I wanna ask, one question with regard to NYPD over time, and then I'm gonna hand it to my colleagues.
5:52:16
The executive plan includes an additional $160,000,000 for NYPD's overtime costs in the current fiscal year.
5:52:23
This would bring the NYPD's overtime budget to $961,000,000 in f y 24, which is approximately 15% of the agency's total budget.
5:52:34
As of April, actual overtime spending is approximately 869,000,000 or it's 90% of the modified budget.
5:52:42
So this is yet another year in which the NYPD spending has surpassed the adopted overtime budget by a significant margin.
5:52:52
Something that you said this morning at the CBC breakfast, that OMB doesn't include the full cost for police overtime in the budget because the council will never approve the full cost.
5:53:03
And if OMB included the full cost, the council would reallocate those funds to something else.
5:53:09
So instead, OMB just underestimates the total budget by $1,000,000,000 and then the council has no choice but to pay for the overtime because the money's already spent by the end of the fiscal year.
5:53:19
Is that what you said this morning?
Jacques Jiha
5:53:21
What we said what I said this morning is, no one knew.
5:53:25
If you tell me, you know, you're gonna spend $1,000,000,000 in overtime, why don't you just put it in the budget?
5:53:30
I would tell you, I didn't know we're gonna spend $1,000,000,000 over time because I didn't know October 7 was gonna happen.
5:53:37
I didn't know you're gonna have a lot of protests as a result of October 7, and and and then over time, I saw increase.
5:53:46
So, therefore, we have a process in this city whereby we submit the budget to the council and every quarter there's an update.
5:53:53
And as we get more information, we update that, information and submit to the council, for our vote because we didn't know it was going to be $1,000,000,000 at the beginning of the fiscal year.
5:54:03
So asking us to put a $1,000,000,000 at the beginning of fiscal year when we don't even know how much it's going to be in term of our forecast, okay, doesn't make any sense.
5:54:10
So therefore, what we have to do is to say every quarter we adjust based on the latest information.
5:54:17
As we get more information about how much is spent, we update our forecast and basically submit them to the city council for as part of the mod, as part of budget modification that we do every 3 months.
Justin Brannan
5:54:30
I mean, I don't think you like blank checks any more than I do for any agencies, but it sounds like PD is getting a blank check.
Jacques Jiha
5:54:38
No.
5:54:38
It's not PD is getting a blank check.
5:54:40
We're monitoring every agency as I said.
5:54:42
This is something as I said.
5:54:44
We are closely monitoring airway agency to make sure, okay, they don't go over their budget.
5:54:51
But at the same time, there are circumstances that are beyond our control.
5:54:54
You and I don't have control over what's taking place in the street on day to day basis.
5:54:58
Okay?
5:54:58
So the only thing we can do is make sure that city, the PEDs, NYPD deploy their resources as efficiently as possible so as to minimize the amount of overtime that they have to incur.
5:55:11
But it's not like we're giving a blank check.
5:55:13
It's just that it's difficult to know on a day to day basis what's gonna happen in the street.
Justin Brannan
5:55:18
So you're not trying to circumvent the powers of the council?
Jacques Jiha
5:55:22
No.
5:55:22
If we knew ahead of time with everything forecast, there is no there wouldn't be any need to have those modification on a quality basis.
5:55:30
It's because we have new information as we go whether it's CDFEP's voucher plan, whether it's SNAP, whatever it is, whatever program we have, we constantly monitor and address them as we go to the to the full year.
5:55:44
And if we see an increase, we make the appropriate adjustment and submit a mod so that the council could basically respond to them.
Justin Brannan
5:55:53
Will there be another can we expect another increase to PD's overtime budget at f y 25 adoption?
Jacques Jiha
5:55:59
We are working closely with NYPD to see exactly where they are.
5:56:02
I know they have spent so far about $53,000,000, I believe, in overtime for the protest alone.
5:56:09
But as we get more information, we will talk to, your your team as part of the budget adoption process in term of providing them all the data.
5:56:18
Because as at the end of the day, you see the same data that we see on a day to day basis.
5:56:22
Your team see the same data that we see.
5:56:24
There's nothing new that, that, you know, that they don't see.
Justin Brannan
5:56:27
I hear I just feel like every year we talk about figuring out how to get NYPD spending under control, and then every year we go back to just giving them whatever they want.
Jacques Jiha
5:56:36
Well, it's not again, as I said, you know, no one knew what's, you know, what, is happening, what went out, what have happened, like, a year and a half, a year ago when we did our forecast.
5:56:45
Again, we just have to reflect in our forecast in a in a in a mud what will it transpired.
