MTA Police Overtime Draining Budget
A few months ago, a big topic was the alleged abuse of overtime which was costing the MTA millions. Fast forward to the present & yet another part of the agency is alleged to be draining millions in overtime. The agency in question is the MTA Police. According to a report in the New York Times, overtime pay rose by $5.8M in 2008 to a total $17.2M. Tom Namako has more:
MTA officials are struggling to put the cuffs on out-of-control overtime pay for their own police force, which is draining tens of millions of dollars from the cash-strapped agency’s budget every year, according to records obtained by The Post.
Overtime pay for the more than 600-member police squad jumped from $11.4 million in 2007 to $17.2 million in 2008 — a $5.8 million hit to the debt-ridden agency at a time when it was lobbying for a taxpayer- and straphanger-funded $2 billion bailout.
In 2007 alone, Officer Richard Ciullo, who was then stationed in Jamaica, Queens, logged 1,374 hours of overtime — the highest on the force, agency records show.
That helped him fatten his paycheck by $77,000, bringing his overall salary to $162,000.
Click here for the complete report.
I am all for making money especially during the tough economic times from the last few years. However I have to question the legitimacy of multiple employees working 1700+ hours of overtime in a year. The numbers just do not add up & should be investigated. Considering the MTA’s emphasis on cutting costs as much as possible, an investigation should be mandatory.
xoxo Transit Blogger
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this overtime thing has been going on for Ions. Every agency complains, but nothing happens. Cops suck up OT the last 3 years of their service to increase their pension checks. Either do something about it, or quit complaining….