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AGENCY TESTIMONY
Overtime management and spending reductions
0:07:12
ยท
3 min
Commissioner Tisch details the NYPD's efforts to manage and reduce overtime spending. She highlights recent successes in controlling overtime costs while maintaining public safety.
- Current overtime budget is $685.7 million, compared to a five-year average of $912 million
- Implementation of clear overtime controls for uniform and civilian members
- 11% reduction in overtime spending in January 2025, saving $8.3 million
- Projected $100 million less in overtime spending compared to previous pace
Jessica Tisch
0:07:12
Overtime continues to be an essential and critical tool in maintaining public safety as it allows for additional deployments when and where they are most needed, including to reduce crime and staff unplanned events.
0:07:25
While an essential part of our budget, it is paramount that over time be actively managed and that there is strict accountability for its use.
0:07:35
I have a track record for taking overtime management seriously as evidenced by my time as sanitation commissioner.
0:07:41
Under my tenure there, my team and I reduced overtime spending by nearly 30% between fiscal years twenty twenty three and 2024, which exceeded even OMV's target.
0:07:53
I'm continuing this focus on efficient and appropriate use of overtime at the NYPD and early results of the overtime management plan are favorable.
0:08:03
First, some context.
0:08:05
The NYPD's current overtime budget is $685,700,000 whereas the average overtime spend for the past five fiscal years, once adjusted for collective bargaining, was $912,000,000 per year.
0:08:19
About $227,000,000 above our current overtime budget.
0:08:24
It is important that we are comparing apples to apples here because the same dollar of overtime today costs more than it did previously.
0:08:33
And for years the budget has had no connection to reality with significant incremental adjustments being made throughout the year.
0:08:40
All that said, we are spending far too much money on overtime at the NYPD.
0:08:46
In the first half of fiscal year twenty twenty five, the department spent $615,700,000 on overtime, an increase of 10.8% compared to the same timeframe last fiscal year.
0:08:59
At that pace we were on course to spend $1,230,000,000 for fiscal year twenty twenty five, a 12.7% increase over fiscal year twenty twenty four.
0:09:10
Then on January 1 I put very clear overtime controls in place for uniform members and I did the same on February 1 for civilian members.
0:09:19
I am pleased to say that in the month of January 2025 we turned the tide and the department's overtime spending is down nearly 11% from January of last year saving 8,300,000.0 in one month.
0:09:34
And that trend continued last month with February overtime spending down 10% compared to last February saving $7,300,000 This reduction is despite multiple headwinds including lower staffing levels and increased resources in the transit system especially on the overnights.
0:09:51
Overall with this renewed focus and enhanced compliance measures we anticipate that we will continue to see reduced overtime compared to the first half of the fiscal year.
0:10:01
Including the additional transit overtime, we are currently projecting to spend $100,000,000 less compared to what the department was on pace to spend if the levels from the first half of the fiscal year had continued unchecked.
0:10:15
And let me be clear, none of this has come at the expense of public safety.