Feliz presses Tisch on overtime reduction strategies
Feliz asks again whether increasing headcount could decrease overtime. Tisch says it would help for special events but not all categories, and notes she's already made a dent with 10% overtime reductions. Feliz asks for the top three things needed to make a bigger dent.
Thank you so much, Chair Lee.
A few more questions on overtime, and then we'll move on to other issues.
And trust me, I wish I did not have to spend this much time talking about overtime, but obviously a big part of the budget.
Overtime.
To what extent do you think increasing headcount can potentially decrease overtime?
Again, there are trade-offs, so I can't answer that question specifically.
It certainly, if we had a larger headcount, it certainly would bring down the overtime budget this summer for the special events, meaning we wouldn't have to go to the 12-hour tours.
But in other cases, like it wouldn't make a dent.
So, for example, if we needed an officer to work two extra hours for
You know, in a zone, larger headcount wouldn't get rid of it.
And oftentimes it said that more headcount, more overtime.
I don't necessarily believe that to be true because I believe if you responsibly manage overtime, you can avoid that.
What would you say are the top three things that would have to happen in an ideal world for us to be able to make the dent on the issue of overtime that I think we all want to make?
I think we have made a dent on the issue of overtime.
I think the data that I provided earlier, calendar year 2025, overtime down 12.4%.
Fiscal year 2026, the first three quarters, overtime down.
10% and the fact that the fiscal year 26 overtime spend is projected to be 6% lower than the historical
average going back to 2016 if you put it in today's dollars and if you exclude the transit program that the governor is funding.
When we think about overtime, yes, the numbers go up and that's because the cops rightfully get paid more.
And so that increases overtime spend.