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DOC outlines initiatives to reduce overtime spending
0:19:52
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4 min
DOC officials, including Bureau Chief of Staff Sherrieann Rembert, provide a detailed explanation of the department's efforts to reduce overtime spending while addressing staffing challenges.
- DOC acknowledges a staffing crisis, with 634 uniformed members of service retiring in 2024 and more eligible for retirement in coming years
- The department is implementing a multi-pronged approach to reduce overtime, including reinforcing controls on overtime usage and optimizing staff coverage
- Specific initiatives include developing an approval process for unauthorized posts, restrategizing deployment efforts, and collaborating with OMAPS for advanced automated systems to manage overtime effectively
Francis Torres
0:19:52
Cherry, if I may, you're absolutely correct.
0:19:55
Every effort is being made by our department to ensure compliance with mayoral directive twenty twenty four one.
0:20:04
To explain to you what initiatives we've established within our department to reduce the overtime, I would like to introduce you to bureau chief chief of staff Rembrandt, who will speak to our efforts.
Sherrieann Rembert
0:20:20
Good morning.
0:20:20
Thank you for the question.
0:20:21
I am Sherry Ann Rembrandt, the bureau chief chief of staff of New York City Department of Correction.
0:20:26
As you know, sir, we are currently facing a staffing crisis.
0:20:30
The city and Holter of hiring for for years expecting a population increase, but it has only grown.
0:20:39
Our agency operates the entire system not just for facilities, housing areas, and or Corsa Hospital.
0:20:48
We rely on all personnel for operation efficiency.
0:20:51
In calendar year of 2024, '6 hundred and '30 '4 uniformed members of service are treated.
0:20:57
That's out of that is 578 correction officers, 40 four captains.
0:21:03
As of February, '2 hundred and '12 correction officers are eligible to retire.
0:21:11
However, in also in 02/2025 up until today, a hundred and four did retire.
0:21:18
By the end of calendar year of '25, a total of 419 additional correction officers will be eligible to retire.
0:21:26
By the end of calendar year 2026, a total of 716 additional correction officer will be eligible to retire.
0:21:35
With saying all of that, we continue to do everything possible to reduce the overtime by keeping in mind it's paramount to have a safe jail and ensuring our staff have a quality of life and working diligently in a balancing safety, security for our persons in custody as well as our staff.
0:21:54
We are using a multi pronged approach working hand in hand to reduce overtime, implement measures to optimize our staff coverage, enhance operational efficiency, and maintain fiscal discipline.
0:22:09
So we begin by reinforcing controls on overtime usage which is tracked by the Office of Administration.
0:22:15
We assigned a dedicated administrative personnel tasked specifically with oversight and management of of our our AWOLs and personal emergency.
0:22:25
We are developing an approval process for an unauthorized post.
0:22:31
The SCOC did help us out and collaborated with us, and they conducted a post analysis at one of our facilities.
0:22:38
We are waiting and standing by for approval for that.
0:22:41
We also restrategized our deployments efforts.
0:22:46
We enforced our biweekly redeployment assignment for personnel for ancillary posts such as the hospitals, housing areas, scheduled medical appointments, as well as mandated services.
0:23:03
We increased our redeployment frequency from one week weekly to twice a week for our temporary duty assignment officers.
0:23:11
Also, staggered the temporary duty officers on the weekends one one day a week and one day on the weekends so that we have coverage on the weekends, which would that that would increase our that will increase our, housing area, staffing ratio.
0:23:35
We collaborated with our OMAPS teams, which is the office of management analysis and planning to advance our automated systems so that we get a dashboard so that we see real time where we see where our staff are doing triples to reduce the unstaffed post and make sure triples and overtime is managed effectively.
0:23:55
This dashboard actively assists commands in reducing triple tours by identifying excessive hours promptly.
0:24:04
It also provides commanding leadership with immediate visibility into leadership excuse me, into staffing patterns facilitating proactive response and intervention.
0:24:15
We also have pre approvals for overtime for staff members that are restricted for overtime, so before they go do overtime, they have to get preapproval by the office of administration.
0:24:27
The office of administration is conducting orders to ensure that all the aforementioned mentioned is in compliance.
Sandy Nurse
0:24:36
Okay.
0:24:37
Thank