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SFMTA projects overtime to run well over budget; committee asks for monthly follow-up and plan

Board of Supervisors Government Audit and Oversight Committee · May 12, 2011
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Summary

SFMTA officials told the committee the agency is projecting overtime to end the year far above budget, driven mostly by transit operators, staffing shortages, part-time restrictions in older contracts, special events and aging fleet maintenance. Supervisors requested a written plan, monthly oversight and potential legislation to require Board approval for overtime over-runs.

SFMTA presented a status report on overtime across the agency and said the transit division accounts for the vast majority of overtime hours and costs. The agency reported a year-to-date actual of about $36.8 million against a budget near $33 million and projected year-end overtime of roughly $51.4 million (transit division projection ~$48 million). Officials said transit operators, vehicle maintenance, transit supervisors and parking-control officers are the primary overtime users.

Presenters described a set of interlocking causes: use of overtime to meet peak-demand service delivery; a long-standing prohibition on part-time operators in union contracts; hiring and attrition shortfalls that left the agency understaffed; accelerated retirements; negotiated furloughs in some contracts; special events (including an unbudgeted World Series) and an aging fleet requiring extra maintenance and labor. Muni executives said Prop E and recent bargaining changes let the agency negotiate MTA-specific contracts and work rules going forward.

Supervisors pressed for specifics on why budgeted overtime differs from actuals, questioned historical bargaining outcomes that limited part-time schedules, and asked what guarantees the agency could offer to reduce long-term reliance on overtime. The committee asked Muni to return monthly with updated overtime reports and directed staff to consider legislation that would require Board approval before a department exceeds its budgeted overtime allocation. The committee also requested the Muni executive director appear at a future hearing.

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