06-09-2009, 02:03 PM
Lamberti is taking us down faster than KJ. Read Michael Mayo's article;
Time for Sheriff's Office to derail overtime gravy train
Michael Mayo | News Columnist
6:59 PM EDT, June 8, 2009
Maybe there was a Category 4 hurricane in Broward last summer and we all slept through it. Or maybe we had a stealth terrorist attack and didn't realize it.
How else to explain $28 million in overtime pay at the Broward Sheriff's Office?
A little bit of overtime for a law enforcement agency we could understand.
A couple of shifts and some courtroom time here and there, maybe an extra $5,000 for deputies pulling down $60,000-70,000 a year.
Michael Mayo Bio | E-mail | Recent columns
Related links
Broward Sheriff: Federal money could spare layoffs
Database: Search BSO employee overtime pay
Overtime by department
Proposed closing of Broward stockade could bring fines, releases
Multimillion bill for overtime at Broward Sheriff's Office now under scrutiny
Is Sheriff Al Lamberti handling the budget issue correctly? But workers doubling their salaries through overtime?
A purchasing agent making an extra $24,905 a year?
Roughly 15 percent of the work force -- 859 of 5,600 employees -- getting at least $10,000 in overtime pay?
These are the eye-opening results of a Sun Sentinel investigation. Clearly, something's wrong with this picture.
Especially with Sheriff Al Lamberti threatening closure of a jail and layoffs of patrol deputies as a budget battle with the Broward County Commission escalates.
In an interview Monday, Lamberti said the overtime costs -- around 4 percent of his annual $715 million budget -- were in line with other local police agencies and lower than the national average of 6 percent cited by the most recent National Institute of Justice survey.
He said overtime for jail deputies has been cut 54 percent this year, and that "out of whack" figures in the Fire-Rescue division were the result of improper hiring and promotions by the county, which previously ran that department.
"The contract was created by the county with all these mandates, and then they're turning around blaming me for poor management," Lamberti said. "That offends me."
To be fair, this isn't something new. Overtime spending accounted for roughly 4 percent of the sheriff's $715 million budget, in line with the tab under predecessor Ken Jenne.
But Jenne lorded over the Sheriff's Office during the flush times of the housing boom, when property tax money fell like manna from heaven.
Those days are over. Now the all-Democrat commission is putting the squeeze on Republican Lamberti to share the budget pain. Lamberti, an autonomous elected constitutional officer, depends on the commission for his funding. He can appeal the budget decision directly to the governor.
It's early in the annual game, but so far Lamberti's been playing hardball. The commission wanted him to cut $50 million from his budget. He proposed $10 million in program cuts, but his overall budget number was initially $7 million HIGHER than last year because of union-contracted salary increases.
The overtime revelations won't help his cause.
Lamberti said the $28.7 million figure is deceptive because some of it is fully recoverable, paid by federal grants and other agencies. For example, overtime for deputies serving on certain specialized task forces is reimbursed.
It's still tax money.
Lamberti said nearly $11 million in overtime last year was paid by cities with Sheriff's Office contracts, which means it didn't come from the county's budget.
It's still tax money.
We all know that a certain amount of overtime is unavoidable for a public-safety outfit. Arrests at the end of a shift, depositions and court appearances, covering shifts of sick workers-- it all adds up.
And it's also true that paying a little overtime can be more cost-effective than hiring full-time employees, because of the big expense of health-care and pension benefits.
But these figures look as if there's some abuse going on, especially for workers who rack up OT in their final years to boost their pension payouts. And it's not just patrol deputies getting paid but also many fire-rescue and jail workers.
It might be time to revisit benefits for public servants, including generous sick days and vacation time that require more shifts to be filled by overtime workers.
And just remember, these figures don't even include the money deputies make from off-duty details. Here's my concern: With all these overtime and off-duty hours, are fatigue and safety issues being taken into account?
After all, patrol deputies carry weapons and have to make split-second decisions with the lives of themselves and others on the line.
Just as airline pilots are only allowed to fly a certain number of hours in a given period, it might be time to cap deputies' weekly work and detail time.
With so many enjoying the lucrative ride, it's probably easier said than done.
Michael Mayo can be reached at mmayo@sunsentinel.com or 954-356-4508.
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Time for Sheriff's Office to derail overtime gravy train
Michael Mayo | News Columnist
6:59 PM EDT, June 8, 2009
Maybe there was a Category 4 hurricane in Broward last summer and we all slept through it. Or maybe we had a stealth terrorist attack and didn't realize it.
How else to explain $28 million in overtime pay at the Broward Sheriff's Office?
A little bit of overtime for a law enforcement agency we could understand.
A couple of shifts and some courtroom time here and there, maybe an extra $5,000 for deputies pulling down $60,000-70,000 a year.
Michael Mayo Bio | E-mail | Recent columns
Related links
Broward Sheriff: Federal money could spare layoffs
Database: Search BSO employee overtime pay
Overtime by department
Proposed closing of Broward stockade could bring fines, releases
Multimillion bill for overtime at Broward Sheriff's Office now under scrutiny
Is Sheriff Al Lamberti handling the budget issue correctly? But workers doubling their salaries through overtime?
A purchasing agent making an extra $24,905 a year?
Roughly 15 percent of the work force -- 859 of 5,600 employees -- getting at least $10,000 in overtime pay?
These are the eye-opening results of a Sun Sentinel investigation. Clearly, something's wrong with this picture.
Especially with Sheriff Al Lamberti threatening closure of a jail and layoffs of patrol deputies as a budget battle with the Broward County Commission escalates.
In an interview Monday, Lamberti said the overtime costs -- around 4 percent of his annual $715 million budget -- were in line with other local police agencies and lower than the national average of 6 percent cited by the most recent National Institute of Justice survey.
He said overtime for jail deputies has been cut 54 percent this year, and that "out of whack" figures in the Fire-Rescue division were the result of improper hiring and promotions by the county, which previously ran that department.
"The contract was created by the county with all these mandates, and then they're turning around blaming me for poor management," Lamberti said. "That offends me."
To be fair, this isn't something new. Overtime spending accounted for roughly 4 percent of the sheriff's $715 million budget, in line with the tab under predecessor Ken Jenne.
But Jenne lorded over the Sheriff's Office during the flush times of the housing boom, when property tax money fell like manna from heaven.
Those days are over. Now the all-Democrat commission is putting the squeeze on Republican Lamberti to share the budget pain. Lamberti, an autonomous elected constitutional officer, depends on the commission for his funding. He can appeal the budget decision directly to the governor.
It's early in the annual game, but so far Lamberti's been playing hardball. The commission wanted him to cut $50 million from his budget. He proposed $10 million in program cuts, but his overall budget number was initially $7 million HIGHER than last year because of union-contracted salary increases.
The overtime revelations won't help his cause.
Lamberti said the $28.7 million figure is deceptive because some of it is fully recoverable, paid by federal grants and other agencies. For example, overtime for deputies serving on certain specialized task forces is reimbursed.
It's still tax money.
Lamberti said nearly $11 million in overtime last year was paid by cities with Sheriff's Office contracts, which means it didn't come from the county's budget.
It's still tax money.
We all know that a certain amount of overtime is unavoidable for a public-safety outfit. Arrests at the end of a shift, depositions and court appearances, covering shifts of sick workers-- it all adds up.
And it's also true that paying a little overtime can be more cost-effective than hiring full-time employees, because of the big expense of health-care and pension benefits.
But these figures look as if there's some abuse going on, especially for workers who rack up OT in their final years to boost their pension payouts. And it's not just patrol deputies getting paid but also many fire-rescue and jail workers.
It might be time to revisit benefits for public servants, including generous sick days and vacation time that require more shifts to be filled by overtime workers.
And just remember, these figures don't even include the money deputies make from off-duty details. Here's my concern: With all these overtime and off-duty hours, are fatigue and safety issues being taken into account?
After all, patrol deputies carry weapons and have to make split-second decisions with the lives of themselves and others on the line.
Just as airline pilots are only allowed to fly a certain number of hours in a given period, it might be time to cap deputies' weekly work and detail time.
With so many enjoying the lucrative ride, it's probably easier said than done.
Michael Mayo can be reached at mmayo@sunsentinel.com or 954-356-4508.
E-mailShare Digg Del.icio.us Facebook Fark Google Reddit Buzz up!Mixx it! Print