817/2014 PortAuthority

**o~Rrtime**exceeds second-quarter projections 

## PortAuthority overtime exceeds second-quarter projections PACommitteeMeetingJuly 23-2014.JPG Port Authority commissioners briefed on overtime spending during a committee meeting Wednesday morning are considering hiring an overtime consultant to reign in the persistent problem. (Steve Strunsky/The Star-Ledger) Steve Strunsky I The Star-ledger By Steve Strunsky I The Star-ledger Email the author 

## I Follow on Twitter on July 28, 2014 at 6:42AM, updated July 29, 2014 at 6:49AM 

### "It seems to me that every meeting I've attended, the overtime has been escalating." NEW YORK- At a July 2013 meeting ofthe Port Authority of New York and New Jersey's Operations Committee,the agency's chieffinancial officer, Elizabeth McCarthy, reported that police overtime was up by more than a third during the second quarter compared with the same period in 2012, and more than a quarterfor civilian employees. McCarthy assured commissioners the agency had taken steps to cut overtime, but she warned, "It's going to get worse before it gets better. "But it is going to get better," she said. Well, it's still getting worse. One year later, during an Operations Committee meeting on Wednesday, McCarthy and otherstaffers told commissioners that second-quarter police overtime was up by 32,000 hours, or 14 percent over 2013. And civilian overtime was up 11,000 hours, or6 percent. In both cases, second-quarter overtime far exceeded projections. Forthe agency's approximately 5,000 civilian employees,the 14,000 overtime hours overprojections meantjust underthree hours per employee forthe quarter.Among its 1,700 police officers, the 37,000 hours beyond the department's quarterly overtime budget amounted to 22 hours per officerforthe months ofApril, May and June. Commissioners who had thought overtime issue was being addressed were stunned. "Itseems to me that every meeting I've attended,the overtime has been escalating," said Commissioner Ken Lipper, who joined the board in June 2013. Lippercalled for hiring a "world-class consultant" on overtime to rein in the hours. But atthe suggestion of Vice Chairman Scott Rechler, the committee agreed that staffers should come backwith a more comprehensive overtime report atthe Sept. 17 meeting, including details ofsteps being taken to cut overtime. http://blog.nj.conv'ledgerupdates_impacVprinl.html?entry=/2014/07/despite _steps _porLauthority_o-...ertime _persists_in_ e)[;eeding_projections.html 1/28!7/2014 PortAuthorityo\.€rtimeexceeds second-quarler projections The board's new chairman, John Degnan, told McCarthy to translate all those hourfigures into dollars, after no one could say exactly what the overtime was actually costing. Meanwhile, civilian employees in departments otherthan aviation orthe PATH system actually logged 13,000 fewer overtime hours than had been budgeted- or22 percent less- forthe quarter. And that translated into 32 percent fewer overtime hours than in the second quarterof2013. But PATH employees worked 25,000 overtime hours more than projected- 38 percent above projections. That overage was blamed on an accelerated construction schedule for a PATH train control system, higher than expected absences and more frequent service to accommodate demand during the Pulaski Skyway overhaul, which limited automobile access to New York City. The additional police overtime was attributed in partto expanded patrols atthe World Trade Center as more facilities opened there, including the May opening ofthe National 9/11 Museum. The PortAuthority's security director, Joseph Dunne, said recent promotions and two large cadet classes would bring the PAPD up to propersupervisory and patrol levels, and thus cut overtime. Dunne said many ofthe 195 rookies who graduated from the PortAuthority Police Academy in January had been assigned to fill gaps in patrols atthe agency's airports, afteran agreement with the Federal Aviation Administration last year restricted the duties ofofficers assigned to airport firefighting units. But Dunne said overtime should begin to go down after 260 rookies from the next cadet class- the department's largest ever- go to work. "They graduate next month," he said. 

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