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QUESTION

Why is overtime used by the NYC Board of Elections and how does it compare to hiring full-time staff?

4:17:43

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Overtime is used by the NYC Board of Elections instead of hiring more full-time staff due to the changing election schedule and the fiscal imprudence of upsizing staff.

The NYC Board of Elections faces a complex election schedule with special elections throughout the year.
Treating themselves like a retail vendor, they hire extra staff for peak times like Christmas Eve.
The primary election was moved from September to June, leading to a continuous need for election workers.
It is more fiscally prudent to pay overtime than to hire additional full-time staff.
The cost of upsizing staff is higher than paying the existing staff overtime.

Gale A. Brewer

4:17:43

The overtime issue obviously is something that a lot of agencies have.

4:17:49

What kind of overtime are you looking at or have you looked at it?

4:17:52

Is that something that's gonna continue into the future?

4:17:55

Obviously, when the big, big election, I assume it gets even more complicated.

Michael J.Ryan

4:17:59

Yes.

4:17:59

So we have made a a value determination that we think serves the taxpayers of the city of New York in the best way that we can.

4:18:10

You can isolate in your budget analysis over time as a number and why is it so high, or you can spread it out over the cost of the year.

4:18:22

Election's typically not talking about early voting, but elections are on a Tuesday.

4:18:26

Right?

4:18:26

We can't say, come back on Wednesday if we're not ready.

4:18:28

Mhmm.

4:18:29

So what we have done is we've treated ourselves more like, you know, a retail vendor, a retail outlet that has up sizes for Christmas Eve.

4:18:42

Because of the number of early of special elections.

4:18:47

We used to kinda do it higher people in in extra people in July, August, and then in December, we would release them.

4:18:57

We don't have that kind of election schedule anymore.

4:19:00

Right?

4:19:00

The primary got moved from September to June, and then we're having special elections all year round.

4:19:06

So it is still more fiscally prudent and fiscally conservative, small c conservative, to pay people over time than it is to hire more full time staff.

Gale A. Brewer

4:19:17

Okay.

Michael J.Ryan

4:19:18

There's more cost associated with upsizing your staff than there is to paying the staff that you have the overtime.

4:19:25

And that's kind of the conundrum that we face.

Gale A. Brewer

4:19:27

Okay.

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