Summary
The Pennsylvania Intergovernmental Cooperation Authority’s (“PICA”) Overtime Update for the Second Quarter of FY2020 showed City of Philadelphia overtime costs totaled $113.1 million, $23.6 million more than through the second quarter of last year. Additionally, PICA’s analysis found City departments spent 67.9 percent of their total allocation for FY2020 overtime, with half the fiscal year still remaining. While some overtime costs within the Police Department may be reimbursed, the City projects it will approach $200 million in overtime spending in FY2020. FY2020 also marks the fifth year in which PICA has advocated for an improved budgeting process, as the City’s target budget for overtime this year is now $33 million more than its original projection. The Update also found the following: • The Departments which spent the most on overtime were Police ($45.7 million), Fire ($32.7 million), Prisons ($14.0 million) and Streets ($7.7 million); • These same four departments also represent the highest increases in overtime spending compared to the first quarter of last year ($21.5 million total); • Across all departments, overtime spending increased by an average of almost more than 26 percent; • Three departments, The Office of Property Assessment, the District Attorney’s Office, and the Office of Human Resources have already spent their entire annual allocation for overtime. In addition to tracking overtime spending among 10 key City departments, PICA analyzes the effect staffing may have on departments’ ability to control overtime spending. This analysis found that, through the second quarter, the nine departments staffed at 90 percent or lower spent just 8.7 percent more of their overtime allocations than the nine departments staffed at 95 percent or higher, suggesting that in FY2020, overtime spending has been high regardless of staffing levels. PICA staff will continue to track and report on City of Philadelphia overtime, producing more quarterly updates and an annual report throughout FY2020.