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Police say overtime is tightly managed; council seeks clarity on impacts of deeper cuts
Summary
Police leaders told council members they prioritize public safety and routinely reassign staff before authorizing overtime, but cautioned deeper cuts could impair responses to homicides, large events and investigations.
Police leadership described how overtime is authorized, tracked and mitigated and warned council members that deep reductions could have significant operational effects.
At the session, police officials said public‑safety needs are the top priority when approving overtime, and they outlined steps used to limit extra hours: reassigning officers between districts, using interdepartmental supports for events, and reviewing special‑event staffing to find efficiencies (for example using DPW barriers rather than officers to block intersections). Staff said a neighborhood “walk‑in” detail has reduced some late‑night overtime driven by prior closed‑shift models.
The department reported completing 553 of 752 sworn‑officer evaluations in the first iteration of a new evaluation process; many remaining evaluations relate to officers on long‑term leave or probationary officers evaluated daily. Officials said programming and reporting limitations meant they could not yet produce a line‑by‑line list of missing evaluations but are working with commanders to close the gap.
Council members asked whether eliminating specialized teams or cutting overtime in half would meaningfully reduce costs. Police leaders said some overtime is contractually required or tied to special events and that significantly slashing overtime could “cripple” operations, impede homicide investigations and force the city to decline some event staffing. The department said it is exploring further interdepartmental coordination for event coverage and is monitoring overtime closely.
Officials also confirmed there are approximately five officers on administrative leave tied to ongoing investigations; the department said those leaves had not yet caused major overtime increases for the districts involved because staffing reassignments have been used to fill gaps.
