YOUNGSTOWN POLICE 6th-day overtime to be cut, chief says

The chief said statistics reported by the newspaper caused concern.
By PATRICIA MEADE
VINDICATOR CRIME REPORTER
YOUNGSTOWN -- Police Chief Jimmy F. Hughes is working on an order that will eliminate most of the department's sixth-day overtime.
"The order will basically say no more sixth days without prior approval of the chief's office," Hughes said Monday. "There will be some discretion with the [turn] captains."
He said the captains will be given certain scenarios where sixth days would have prior approval and negate the need for his input. The order cutting overtime is expected to go out this week.
The Vindicator reported Sunday that sixth-day overtime jumped from $27,668 in 2004 to $196,287 last year, according to fiscal management office records. The increase is more than 600 percent.
In 2005, six captains, one lieutenant, one detective sergeant and one patrolman who worked overtime earned more than then-Police Chief Robert E. Bush Jr., whose annual pay was $83,903. The chief's position does not pay overtime.
Overtime rose to $1.47 million in 2005, an increase of about 30 percent over the previous year. About 22 percent of the overtime was covered by grants and law enforcement partners, a drop of around 10 percent.
Hughes, who took over as chief earlier this month, said he had been reviewing costs before Sunday's story was published. He said a look at the statistics in the newspaper caused him concern, especially the increase in police officers working six days a week.
"I don't believe there was abuse, but I want to do better with overtime," Hughes said. "That means sacrificing some services where I can."
Expanded beats
The chief said one way to curtail overtime is to expand some of the beats police now cover. A beat with one cruiser, for example, may become part of an adjacent beat now covered by two cruisers. The two cruisers would then cover the expanded beat.
He's also taking a look at the day shift, which he said "has the most bodies" and generates the most sixth days. The day shift is unique because it has the most senior members of the department, who each get six weeks' vacation, he said.
Eliminating the practice of officers taking certain reports in the neighborhoods, such as theft reports done for insurance purposes, is also being contemplated, the chief said. The reports may be mailed or handled some other way, he said.
Lt. Robin Lees, police spokesman, attributed much of the sixth-day increase to a shortage of officers through attrition and not hiring replacements. The city's finance director said paying overtime, a variable cost, is less expensive than hiring full-time employees who represent a fixed cost.
Hughes said until more officers can be hired, he has to work with the number he has.
meade@vindy.com