November 15, 2016
It's the sixth year in a row that Philadelphia hasn't met its planned overtime budget, according to one new report.
The Pennsylvania Intergovernmental Cooperation Authority, created by the commonwealth to oversee Philadelphia's finances, released its report Monday showing that for the fiscal year 2016, the city spent $170 million in overtime costs, $45 million more than was budgeted in key departments.
It's a continuous problem for Philadelphia. According to PICA, departments have gone over their estimated budgets since the 2011 fiscal year; the $170 million figure is the highest overtime usage level since 2010.
PICA warns that if city spending continues down this same path, it will "adversely affect the city's fund balances."
"Overtime spending in lieu of hiring may sometimes be financially prudent in order to avoid added benefits costs," the report read. "However, overtime should be monitored and applied efficiently. The city should develop methods to ensure that overtime usage is reasonable from a financial and management standpoint and should create a budget that reflects a decision about appropriate use of overtime in each city department."
Philadelphia police and the fire department had the most overtime usage. The 2016 budget allotted the police department $49 million; they spent $64 million, according to PICA's report.
The chart below details the overtime amounts projected for key departments and how much was actually spent, according to PICA.
| Department | Overtime Budget | Total Overtime Paid | % of OT Used |
| Procurement Department | $5,000 | $28,309 | 566.2% |
| Behavioral Health/disAbility Services | 1,000 | 5,195 | 519.6% |
| First Judicial District | 92,000 | 426,210 | 463.3% |
| Licenses and Inspections | 465,000 | 1,812,827 | 389.9% |
| Mural Arts Program | 5,381 | 13,832 | 257.1% |
| Sheriff's Department | 2,276,185 | 5,677,451 | 249.4% |
| Streets Department | 7,810,759 | 14,565,821 | 186.5% |
| Fleet Management | 1,818,478 | 3,253,678 | 178.9% |
| Department of Public Property | 535,200 | 914,639 | 170.9% |
| Records Department | 150,172 | 230,004 | 153.2% |
| Fire Department | 24,953,030 | 37,417,517 | 150.0% |
| Parks and Recreation | 2,366,240 | 3,538,293 | 149.5% |
| Office of Supportive Housing | 204,809 | 302,491 | 147.7% |
| Health Department | 1,668,900 | 2,443,425 | 146.5% |
| Free Library | 1,219,125 | 1,672,235 | 137.2% |
| Managing Director's Office | 397,676 | 537,196 | 135.1% |
| City Controller's Office | 50,000 | 66,941 | 133.9% |
| Police Department | 49,178,908 | 63,967,116 | 130.1% |
| Human Resources | 45,300 | 58,916 | 130.1% |
| Revenue Department | 612,825 | 748,665 | 122.2% |
| City Commissioners | 905,223 | 1,041,102 | 115.0% |
| Office of Innovation and Technology | 623,185 | 706,984 | 113.4% |
| Prisons Department | 29,153,537 | 29,578,749 | 101.5% |
| District Attorney's Office | 158,000 | 156,060 | 98.8% |
| Atwater Kent Museum | 2,843 | 2,687 | 94.5% |
| Office of the Director of Finance | 32,649 | 28,879 | 88.5% |
| Office of Property Assessment | 50,000 | 29,129 | 58.3% |
| Law Department | 5,000 | 99 | 2.0% |
| Totals | 124,786,425 | 170,021,652 | -- |
The report also found that the fire department spent $37 million even though it was allotted $25 million for the year.
Five of the 28 departments looked at remained within their overtime budget for the year.
The city's fiscal year ended June 30.
Mike Dunn, a city spokesperson, said that reducing overtime spending is a tight focus for the Kenney administration. The city's projection for next year's spending is $133 million, $37 million less than this past fiscal year.
Dunn said that costs were exceeded for 2016 due to staffing shortages, among other factors. The papal visit was also considered in overtime costs.
"The Managing Director’s Office has been working with each department to control overtime through careful planning, including identifying the source of overtime costs and ways to recoup and reduce costs," he said in a statement.
Read the full PICA report here.
