County jail guards accrue unsustainable overtime pay
Guards for the Allegheny County Jail accumulated more than double the budgeted amount in overtime pay during 2009, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports. That year, guards took home $4.1 million in overtime pay - twice the $2 million set aside in the budget. That shock to the payroll is far too high for county officials who have been working to reduce overtime costs.
An audit released on Wednesday from the county controller's office revealed that short-staffing, excessive sick-day use and inmate trips to hospitals were the main sources of the inflated costs, the paper details. Controller Mark Patrick Flaherty stated that the county jail must increase its adherence to normal work shifts, as well as part-time shifts, rather than rely on staff working overtime.
"Part of our problem is we don't have anybody available on certain days, and so there's some forced overtime down there," Flaherty told the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review.
The most notable sources of the overtime pay spike include 7,955 unscheduled call-offs in 2009 - a 32 percent increase over the previous two years. Additionally, there were 33 fewer part-time officers than required in the budget, while working officers tallied $400,000 in overtime pay due to 522 inmate visits to hospitals.
An audit released on Wednesday from the county controller's office revealed that short-staffing, excessive sick-day use and inmate trips to hospitals were the main sources of the inflated costs, the paper details. Controller Mark Patrick Flaherty stated that the county jail must increase its adherence to normal work shifts, as well as part-time shifts, rather than rely on staff working overtime.
"Part of our problem is we don't have anybody available on certain days, and so there's some forced overtime down there," Flaherty told the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review.
The most notable sources of the overtime pay spike include 7,955 unscheduled call-offs in 2009 - a 32 percent increase over the previous two years. Additionally, there were 33 fewer part-time officers than required in the budget, while working officers tallied $400,000 in overtime pay due to 522 inmate visits to hospitals.
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