Cuts in police overtime targeted

By John w. Goodwin jr.

The city is trying to cut overtime costs by $50,000.

GIRARD — Overtime costs have been a constant consideration, and sometimes point of contention, in the police department here, but officials have implemented a few policies to reduce overtime and save the department money.

According to Safety Service Director Jerry Lambert, the city spent about $200,000 in overtime in the police department in 2008. He said the ultimate goal is to reduce that number significantly.

“What we are trying to do is cut the overtime in the police department by $50,000 this year. With these new policies and contract language, we should be able to do that,” he said.

Capt. John Villecco, who has been acting as chief since June, said the first step in creating savings in the department was to have more employees designated as notaries with the ability to notarize police documents. The court requires that all criminal charges filed by an officer be notarized.

In the past, officers working an afternoon or night shift would return to the department during the daytime hours to have any arrest made in the evening notarized before those charges were sent to the court. The department now has six people, a person available on each shift, who can notarize the documents.

“This will eliminate the need for officers to come in and sign these charges on overtime,” said Villecco.

Villecco said having the employees certified as notaries cost the department about $300. The department will recoup the initial cost, he said, after a few filings where no overtime is needed.

Officers were also routinely paid overtime to appear in court for various cases.

Villecco said one officer, Patrolman Ron Schnarrs, has now been assigned to make all appearances in court for cases where an officer is needed. Schnarrs routinely works during the day when court is in session, so no overtime will be required.

Schnarrs, according to Villecco, will also take on other duties that will free up some time for other officers.

“He will also make the transports for court appearances,” said Villecco. “He is also a presence in the schools, not as a resource officer, but assigned as a contact for any problems in the school.”

Lambert said a change in contract language, through a cooperative effort with the union and administration, will also go a long way toward saving the department money.

“Basically, there were two areas scrutinized, and one of those areas allowed for captain-to-captain assigning so if minimum manning had been reached and no captain was on duty, a captain could chose to come out on overtime,” he said.

According to Lambert, the captain’s provision was put into place in the early 1990s to insure the constant presence of a supervisor. Now, the highest ranking officer on duty under minimum manning will serve as the supervisor.

Mayor James Melfi said cost-reducing measures are essential to keep the department and city running smoothly.

“The reality is, we have to be very cautious; these are very difficult economic times,” he said. “To have these types of measures implemented and followed through is very important. We are trying to keep officers on the road, and money dictates that.”

jgoodwin@vindy.com