Police, fire units rack up overtime
By Johnny Brannon
Advertiser Staff Writer
Overtime spending by Honolulu's police and fire departments shot up dramatically this year because of short staffing, increased security needs and the wave of anthrax scares that followed the Sept. 11 attacks, officials said.
With more than two months left in the fiscal year, the Police Department expects to exceed its $16.6 million overtime budget by $1.8 million, and the Fire Department has just $8,000 left in its $1.7 million overtime cache.
Police scrambled to protect vulnerable pieces of the island's infrastructure, such as power plants and water tanks, from possible terrorist attacks after Sept. 11.
And officers and fire department hazardous materials crews responded to hundreds of calls from anxious residents who spotted suspicious mail or unidentified white powder and feared an anthrax attack. No anthrax was found in Hawai'i.
HPD will be able to absorb the overtime cost without seeking a bailout from the City Council, Finance Division Maj. Susan Ballard said.
About $1.1 million will come from the regular police salary budget, where money is available because many authorized positions are vacant, she said.
There are 237 vacant positions for officers and 30 for civilians, and some of the overtime spending is because of the personnel shortage, Ballard said.
The department is authorized to hire 2,621 permanent employees and 66 contract workers. Nearly 200 recruits are in police training programs.
The City Council has called for 1 percent cuts to Mayor Jeremy Harris' proposed budgets of $158.6 million for police and $60.7 million for firefighters.
Police Chief Lee Donohue said the cuts could force the department to cancel two recruit training classes, which would leave the department short by 295 officers by June 2003. Fire Chief Attilio Leonardi said his department would be forced to cancel a training class as well.
But council budget chairwoman Ann Kobayashi said that the administration had not provided all the financial information she had requested by the time the cuts were proposed, and that adjustments would be made to retain all recruit classes.
The administration's proposed overtime budgets for the departments, including overtime for holidays, are $16.4 million for police and $1.9 million for firefighters.
In the past, the Police Department has used unspent overtime toward the end of the fiscal year to finance special crackdowns on speeders and other problems. The practice sparked controversy last year when some officers were instructed to issue a quota of four traffic tickets per hour to remain on such special overtime duty.
Ballard said no such overtime initiatives are planned this year because there is no money left.
No police positions have been intentionally kept vacant to save money or provide extra overtime financing, she said. The department has struggled to recruit new officers to replace those who retire or accept higher-paying jobs in California, Oregon and other states, she said.
The department expects to pay for the remainder of the extra overtime by billing the Board of Water Supply $700,000 for extra police protection of water facilities.
Fire Department Capt. Richard Soo said the Fire Department hopes to end the fiscal year without exceeding its overtime budget, but that it will depend on whether there are any serious fires by then.
The Fire Department has 1,135 authorized positions, and about 35 for uniformed personnel are vacant.
Reach Johnny Brannon at 525-8070 or jbrannon@honoluluadvertiser.com.
