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Committee splits overtime supplemental: police portion continued after BLA flags noncompliance with Administrative Code
Summary
The committee voted to duplicate and split the overtime supplemental so the police overtime portion is continued for further review after the Budget Legislative Analyst reported SFPD and other departments incurred overtime in excess of appropriations contrary to Administrative Code §3.17(b). The remainder of the supplemental was recommended to the full board.
The Budget & Finance Committee divided the city’s annual overtime supplemental on procedural and oversight grounds on May 2017. The Budget Legislative Analyst (BLA) told the committee that several departments — including the San Francisco Police Department (SFPD) — had incurred overtime expenditures in excess of earlier appropriations, a practice the BLA said does not comply with Administrative Code section 3.17(b).
The clerk had called two linked items: Item 2 (release of $1,100,000 from a committee reserve to cover SFPD overtime) and Item 3 (a larger supplemental that reappropriates roughly $25 million to cover projected overtime shortfalls across six departments). The BLA’s presentation showed SFPD projecting roughly $21.1 million in overtime for FY16-17 — several million over the authorized budget — and emphasized the need for departments to bring timely supplemental requests and better projections earlier in the year.
SFPD representatives explained overtime drivers as primarily arrests and investigations that extend officers’ shifts, court appearances, special events, and other extended duty categories. The department said some categories are predictable and partly staffed on regular time, while arrests and investigations frequently extend shifts.
After extended questioning about why overtime rose despite prior staffing increases, Supervisor Yi moved to duplicate Item 3 so the police portion would be severed and continued for further review while the supplemental for other departments would move forward to the full Board. The motion passed on roll call (Supervisor Sheehy opposed). The committee also agreed to continue the reserve release (Item 2) for one week to rehear it with the police overtime supplemental.
The committee asked the BLA and departments to provide more granular overtime data (special events, arrests, investigations, court appearances) and suggested expanding a planned police staffing audit to include overtime use. The committee’s action preserved supplemental appropriations for non-police departments while reserving further review and potential audit of SFPD overtime.
