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Supervisors advance ordinance to require Board approval for overtime above operating budgets; urge SFMTA to craft a plan
Summary
The committee advanced an ordinance to require Board approval for overtime spending beyond annual operating funds, amended to limit the rule to operating funds; the committee also adopted a resolution urging SFMTA to develop a plan to manage overtime, with SFMTA promising to return within about 60 days.
The Board of Supervisors’ Government Audit and Oversight Committee moved forward on Sept. 8 with an ordinance to tighten oversight of overtime spending and adopted a companion resolution urging the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency to develop a plan to manage overtime.
Chair David Campos and co-sponsor Supervisor Mark Farrell said departments exceeded budgeted overtime by roughly $40 million in the prior fiscal year and that the ordinance would require Board approval for any overtime expenditures above what was budgeted. Monique Smuda of the Controller’s Office told the committee the proposed measure would apply to annual operating funds (which account for about 96–97 percent of overtime dollars) and that reporting limitations make it harder to isolate overtime in capital or special funds.
The committee amended the ordinance by adding the phrase "within annual operating funds" to Section 3.7A so the annual appropriations ordinance would contain a separate appropriation for overtime within those funds. Supervisor Farrell moved the amendment and the motion to adopt the legislation as amended was taken without objection.
Committee members discussed which departments the ordinance would affect — the Controller identified likely coverage of the airport, Office of Emergency Management, Fire, Police, Department of Public Health, Public Utilities Commission, Department of Public Works, Recreation and Parks, and the Sheriff’s Department; the item does not apply to SFMTA because the Board has limited authority over SFMTA line-item budgets, though the controller will continue to include MTA overtime in reports.
On the companion resolution urging SFMTA to prepare an overtime-management plan, Chair Campos said SFMTA accounted for about 41.52 percent of the city’s total overtime in fiscal 2010. Sonali Bose, SFMTA CFO, said the agency has been reviewing overtime, has requested more-detailed monthly reports, and expected to bring a plan to the MTA Board and back to the committee within about 60 days; she said the agency spent a little over $50 million on overtime this fiscal year and that returning toward a budgeted number near $30 million would be a significant achievement.
Public commenter Douglas Yap urged immediate mayoral leadership, convening department heads to resolve overtime problems, and more aggressive oversight. The committee moved the ordinance forward with the amendment and continued additional items to the call of the chair.
