Summary
The FY18 Annual Overtime Report provides a detailed analysis of Philadelphia’s overtime expenditures, which totaled $179.4 million, marking the highest overtime spending in the City’s history at that time. This represented an increase of $16.1 million from FY17 and $43.8 million over the budgeted allocation, continuing an eight-year trend of exceeding overtime budgets.
The report closely examines seven key departments, which accounted for 90% of total overtime costs: Police, Fire, Prisons, Streets, Parks & Recreation, Free Library, and Public Property. Each of these departments overspent their overtime allocations, with Fire, Streets, and Police leading the increases. Contributing factors included staffing shortages, high leave usage, emergency response needs, and unplanned events such as severe weather and public demonstrations.
PICA’s findings underscore the need for strategic workforce management, better overtime forecasting, and a more data-driven allocation process to curb excessive spending. The report recommends that City officials adjust overtime budgets to reflect realistic departmental needs, while also implementing long-term staffing strategies to reduce reliance on overtime expenditures.