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Hoover council hears plan to change police overtime period and pilot 12‑hour patrol shifts
Summary
City staff proposed switching the law‑enforcement FLSA overtime work period from 7 days/40 hours to 14 days/80 hours to align pay during a six‑month pilot of 12‑hour patrol shifts; Chief Moore said the change is primarily an internal payroll adjustment and the pilot would start March 29 if systems are ready.
The Hoover City Council heard a request to change the way the city calculates law‑enforcement overtime so a 12‑hour patrol shift pilot can be implemented.
Chief Moore told the council the department wants to move from the current overtime standard — overtime pay for hours worked over 40 in a 7‑day period — to a 14‑day/80‑hour work period under the Fair Labor Standards Act. "We're gonna do a pilot project with our patrol division for 12 hour shifts, and this would allow fair compensation once we during the pilot project for all officers to be paid the same rate," Chief Moore said.
Why it matters: staff said the change equalizes overtime treatment across officers and supports recruitment and retention. Moore explained many potential lateral recruits are already on 12‑hour schedules, and keeping comparable shift patterns makes Hoover more competitive. "Our workforce in patrol, almost 70% has been on 10 years or less," he said, arguing the schedule would give more predictable multi‑day time off and help morale.
Council members asked whether the pay‑period change would remove overtime for officers who work more than 40 hours in a single week. In response, Moore confirmed the shift is a recalculation under FLSA rules, not an elimination of overtime: "Yes, sir. That is correct" when asked whether pay would be based on a two‑week period rather than one.
Staff said the pilot is scheduled to start March 29, subject to payroll and municipal software adjustments, and would run a minimum of six months. A council member asked whether implementing the pilot requires a separate council approval; staff said it does not, though the council requested the matter be revisited if the city returns to the prior schedule.
The session included several operational questions from council members about scheduling mechanics, weekend coverage and whether officers would lose weekend time under the new rotation. Chief Moore and other staff described the "Panama schedule" the department would use (one long week and one short week) and emphasized the pilot’s intent to provide more frequent multi‑day breaks and to aid recruiting.
Next steps: staff will coordinate with finance and HR to complete payroll testing and begin the pilot if the systems are ready. The council did not take a final vote on the FLSA change during the work session.
