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DPS reports more than $794,000 in overtime this fiscal year as committee questions funding source
Summary
DPS officials said they have paid about $794,500 in overtime so far this fiscal year but the governor's revised budget contains no local overtime appropriation; the committee was told local practice has the police overtime charged to department accounts and that external funding rules complicate payment sources.
The Department of Public Safety told the House Ways and Means committee it has recorded roughly $794,500 in overtime for this fiscal year — an amount that exceeds the local overtime request in its budget submission.
Committee members asked how overtime has been paid when the revised budget shows no local overtime appropriation. Director Kay Enos said the department's summary time sheets and internal reporting show overtime charged to the department's police local account, which she said is being drawn down. Enos and OMB staff noted a budget provision that directs overtime for DPS and the Department of Defense to be funded from "outside" (external) sources when possible, a restriction members said is complicating operations.
OMB reported the department's overall overtime expense (including federal programs and one-time sources) at about $2,017,000 but said much of that figure included prior ARPA overtime that is no longer available. OMB identified roughly $52,000 remaining in a law-enforcement grant account and about $42,000 in a compact-impact allocation that could be used for overtime, leaving a substantial shortfall against the roughly $794,500 the department had accumulated in local overtime expense.
Commissioner Anthony Amekronas said department morale is affected when overtime is not paid consistently, and the committee asked the department and finance officials to clarify the sources currently used to pay overtime and how future overtime will be sustained.
Committee members requested further information from the Department of Finance and OMB about how overtime payments have been funded and what outside revenue sources remain available.
