With a Downsized Police Force, Lacey Works to Contain Overtime

The Lacey Township Police Department is down six police officers since 2008 but has been able to maintain overtime costs.

“Overtime hasn’t run a muck over here,” Police Chief William Nally said. “There has been a slight increase since we’re down men but we’ve kept it to a minimum because of funding issues.

From 2008 to 2011, overtime costs have increased by 11 percent but comparing one year to another is like comparing “apples to oranges,” Nally said.

A lot goes into overtime including salaries and changes in departments, he said.

Overtime includes everything from county and municipal court, extra assignments, covering shift shortages, serving on the county swat team and extended investigations, he said. The majority of overtime is for vacation and medical leave.

“You can’t deny leave based on overtime,” Nally said.

With an understaffed department of just 40 police officers, an increase in overtime is not uncommon, Nally said.

“It inhibits what we can do in the grand scheme,” Nally said. “When you have less officers working the road, there’s going to be more call for overtime.”

Unfortunately, the police department has become a “response oriented organization,” he said. The police department lacks a traffic bureau, doesn’t investigate after hours, has had a reduction in hours and participates in less training.

More Manpower vs. Overtime

The amount of overtime paid to Lacey police totals hundreds of thousands of dollars each year, leaving some taxpayers to wonder, “Why not just hire more officers?”

“At some point a certain amount of overtime is effective,” Nally said. “It’s less expensive to the town.”

Overtime in 2011 up until Oct. 31 amounted to $149,325.17. Some salaries are over $80,000, not including benefits and longevity.

The township anticipated a higher amount of overtime in the budget for 2011, Mayor Gary Quinn said.

“Bringing on more staff is not a possibility based on the economic times we’re in,” Quinn said.

The township continues to work to resolve police contracts, which expired at the end of last year.

“We do have the money in the budget to pay overtime but we still have to make changes,” he said.

Although the township is not looking to take away from what current officers receive, certain perks need to be removed for future police officers, Quinn said.

“The chief has had to make major changes in management,” he said. “There are minimal men inside the building.”

A larger number of police staff, including sergeants and lieutenants, are back on the road, Quinn said.

“They’ve done a great job filling those voids that we have in the times that we’re in,” Quinn said. “But there’s no doubt that we’re going to have to bring on more staff in future years.”

Minimal Personnel, More Overtime

Nally considers Lacey’s overtime low compared to other municipalities with similar sized departments, he said

Cinnaminson, NJ boasts a police department with 23 officers and had to pay out .

Cinnaminson has developed a new schedule based on what days and times are busiest, Public Safety Director Michael P. King told Cinnaminson Patch.

But a schedule change would not work in Lacey, Nally said.

“The problem with that is that officer’s schedules are guided by the collective bargaining agreement,” he said. Each police officer needs a certain amount of notice in schedule changes.

“Every shift is staffed with minimal personnel and there are a lot of guidelines to follow,” Nally said.

In addition to leading to a slight increase in overtime, , Nally previously said. 

According to the FBI Uniform Crime Statistics, there has been a 55 percent increase in violent crime over a one-year period.

The FBI recently released statistics on the number of reported crimes in numerous categories. Overall there were 42 incidents of violent crime in Lacey, 11 robberies, 31 aggravated assaults, 802 property crimes, 118 burglaries, 668 thefts and 16 motor vehicle thefts.

“The number of police force can affect those incidents,” Nally said. “We continue to try to do what we can with the resources we have.”

Below is a chart detailing overtime over the last four years:

Overtime Costs

Year

Overtime

2008

134,484.20

2009

149,424.61

2010

149,314.33

2011 (as of Oct. 31)

149,325.17