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Murphy staff urges reverting overtime calculation after two‑year rise in costs
Summary
Staff told council that counting leave toward overtime raised the city's overtime outlay from about $482,000 in FY23 to $799,000 in FY25 and proposed reverting to counting only hours actually worked, a change staff says would reduce unpredictable overtime spending while leaving mandated public‑safety overtime intact.
Staff presented a recommended amendment to the personnel policy that would revert the city's overtime calculation to count only hours actually worked, rather than including paid leave time in the overtime base. The change, staff said, would make overtime expenses easier to forecast and reduce administrative burdens related to splitting worked and non‑worked hours.
The staff member (Staff member, S7) framed the move as aligning written policy with long‑standing practice and noted a federal tax mandate that applies only to overtime for actual hours worked. Council asked for context; the staff member (Staff member, S2) cited budget figures to illustrate the change’s fiscal rationale, saying, "our overtime budget came in at about $482,000 that year" and that "Fast forward to FY '25 when this policy had been in place for a full year, overtime came in at $799,000." The staff member emphasized that the proposal would not eliminate overtime for personnel with mandated overtime (for example police and fire shift structures) but would narrow the calculation method to reduce overall cost volatility.
Council members asked whether other cities use both methods and staff replied practices vary, with roughly half of similar cities counting leave toward overtime and half counting only hours worked. Staff said the change would be brought back for formal approval on the council agenda (staff indicated a March 3 return to request approval of the changes).
