Because of a hectic summer, the Police Department is already 1/3 through its overtime budget.

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — The Police Department has already spent a third of its overtime budget, which is double what it should have at this point.

 

The Police Department has spent 33.9 percent of the scheduled overtime budget as of the last pay period and 23.8 percent of the special investigation overtime budget.

 

The budget numbers should be at 15.4 percent so the early trend shows the department will run a deficit for its third consecutive year.

 

"The trend is that we're overspending. We know we are overspending because we are staffing for two additional patrols," Police Chief Michael Wynn said on Wednesday. 

 

The numbers are trending like that for two particular reasons: additional directed patrols and three unanticipated large investigations. 

 

Just four days into the new fiscal year, on July 4, the first of three major incidents occurred when a shooting left one dead and four others injured. Later that month, another shooting left one dead on Tyler Street and a few days after that two bodies were found in a Plunkett Street home. The extra investigative work for those cases was more than anticipated. 

 

So far the department has spent 23.8 percent of the $40,000 allocated in the budget for special investigation overtime. That line is for when officers work extra hours at the scene of a crime.

 

"A lot of work, especially when you are doing investigative work is on overtime," said Mayor Daniel Bianchi said. "You have guys working the normal shift but when there is an incident, you don't stop working. You continue to work until you get a lead or an arrest. In many cases, it is really racks up the overtime."

 

Following the three cases, the mayor also announced the launching of zero-tolerance patrols. Those patrols are strict traffic enforcement and based in specific geographic areas, which included the areas of the shootings. The officers on those details stay and patrol their neighborhoods enforcing laws instead of responding to calls for service while the patrolman on duty handles the calls. The plan stemmed from a mayoral task force and those additional patrols are being paid out of the scheduled overtime line.

 

Wynn says there have been 30 zero-tolerance patrols that have led to a number of arrests. He said they have proven to be successful, so far, but that has come at a cost of $19,805 as of Aug. 21, the end of the last pay period. 

 

"We really needed to the zero tolerance. We had a pretty significant effort," Bianchi said.

 

On top of that, the downtown patrols have racked up $29,142 in overtime so far with 84 patrols. The downtown patrols stemmed from Downtown Pittsfield Inc.'s petitioning of the city for foot patrols on North Street. At the time, Wynn advocated for the hiring of four additional officers to handle all of the patrols. The mayor, however, opted to authorize overtime to pay for those, too. 

 

The downtown patrols faced scrutiny from the City Council this spring when the scheduled overtime budget was some $200,000 in the red. The downtown patrols last year cost the city more than $70,000. Wynn said those will end later in the fall and start back up next summer.

 

Both of those patrols are charged to the scheduled overtime line, which is budgeted at $600,000 for the year, a $40,000 increase from the previous year. However, in both of the last two years, the department spent just over $800,000 on scheduled overtime. 

 

In the last two years, the city's had to transfer money from other areas of the budget to compensate for a deficit in the Police Department's overtime spending.

 

Wynn said areas such as money allocated for unfilled positions were used in the past to cover any deficit. However, he said the budget lines have been approved closer to actual spending amount before the transfers while the overtime budget hasn't increased accordingly. 

 

"The last couple years we've needed an infusion in the fourth quarter," the chief said. "We've all been asked to tighten our belts as tight as we can."

 

Bianchi said public safety is one area the city can run a deficit if needed. He says ensuring public safety comes before sticking to the budgeted amounts.

 

"There is always a concern for overtime. But, that is why the law allows for public safety to run deficits if necessary," Bianchi said. "There are things that while you are concerned about budgets, you are not going to be driven by budgets. Public safety trumps budget concerns."

 

Nonetheless, the mayor says he'll be looking for ways to close the anticipated gap later in the year.

 

Wynn said contributing to the overtime budget is a shortage of patrolmen. The department is authorized to hire up to 91 officers, and four of those positions are unfilled. Of the 87 on the payroll, four are on long-term injury and two are on administrative leave. All of those vacancies come from patrol and not from any other unit. 

 

About $50,000 went to those shifts while about $150,000 has gone to keeping staffing at the minimum.

 

"There probably hasn't been a shift since the beginning of the year that we haven't hired somebody to fill," Wynn said.

 

Essentially, there are 46 patrol positions but only 36 patrol officers.

 

"Those vacancies contribute to our ability to staff to minimums," Wynn said, adding that the department has set minimums on the number of patrol cars on a shift.

 

He said those additional shifts are ordered, not optional, for patrolmen. The zero tolerance and the downtown walking patrols are open to all ranks of officers. 

 

Historically, 10 percent of the work force is unavailable, Wynn said. Further, he said the department should be staffed with 110 to 120 officers because the current staff level was set before the department created a drug unit, school resource officers, and other specialized units. 

 

Bianchi, however, said now isn't the time to boost staffing. Instead, the mayor said he'd like to get those officers who are out back on the beat.

 

"We are down as a result of administrative leaves and injured on duty. We'll get back up again and when we do, that is the time to analyze the levels," Bianchi said. "There isn't a department in the city that couldn't use more people. The Police Department is challenged but so aren't others."

 

When it comes to overtime, the mayor said once the summer concludes, he expects to see the numbers go down. He said some of the overtime is required to cover for things like vacations.

 

"Once we get out of the summer and kids get back to school, you will see a drop off in overtime," Bianchi said.