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I know people on here will rant and fight that I am simply a Bloomberg hater and while there is definitely some truth to that, fact is, he hasn't helped his case one bit since coming into office...
Now we're seeing that his brilliant idea to cut a number of city employees mentioned in the article above has actually increased costs for this city since the need to cover up for the massive lay-offs, has led to a huge increase in overtime.
So let me get this straight... It is a necessity to cut teachers, and firefighters, and police officers, and a number of other city employees since we obviously do not have the money but we have enough to institute bike lanes across the city, and build tons of mini sidewalks within streets to make it easier for pedestrians to walk but impossible for car owners to drive... to then realize it was a stupid idea and then spend money removing this brilliant plan...
I love what the article says at the end...
"City officials defended the bank-busting expenses as a necessity, saying it's cheaper to pay fewer workers overtime than pay the pensions and health benefits of more employees. Experts say it's hard to know if that's true without a thorough review.
The city's overall payroll expenses are up, even as the headcount is down. The expenses are influenced by rising health care and pension costs - as well as hefty overtime pay.
Overtime can also increase pension costs since some employees pad their pensions by racking up extra hours - and pay - in their final years."
Seems more like this city doesn't know what the hell it's doing...
I would tend to agree, as does corporate America, that having fewer employees and squeezing more out of them, including paying overtime, is much more economical than hiring more people because of all the benefits/pensions/paperwork/office space, etc.
It sounds to me like the city understands that the more employees you have, the greater the liability incurred by taxpayers in the form of pensions/benefits down the road. Pay more now, SAVE LOTS AND LOTS later...that's typically what smart people do. And yes, you are simply a Bloomberg hater.
Wow... really? Way to oversimplify the whole point to one topic of this article while conveniently choosing to ignore the fact that a countless number of people critical to their jobs were let go because this city had no money, meanwhile there has been money for countless other idiotic endeavours... Oh btw, yes I just speak out of my a** because I am a Bloomberg hater...
BY Celeste Katz There's gold in those public housing toilets - and under the snow, on Rikers Island and on fire trucks zipping to blazes. As the Bloomberg administration has slashed the number of city employees, the smaller workforce has put in so many extra hours on the job that the overtime bill has surged to a projected $1.2 billion for the last fiscal year. Our Erin Einhorn reports:
That's up roughly $76 million from the year before, the Independent Budget Office reports.
"Overtime for the city has been increasing for the better part of a decade, pretty consistently," said Maria Doulis, an overtime watchdog with the Citizens Budget Commission. "It's something that has raised our eyebrows in the past and a cost that in every budget is underestimated." A Daily News analysis of payroll data found:
At least 17 workers took in more than $100,000 in overtime last year, including 11 housing authority plumbers.
At least 393 workers made more than $50,000 in overtime, some more than doubling their base pay.
The FDNY turned in the biggest OT bill of any city agency: $234 million.
The figures don't even include the NYPD: City payroll data supplied to The News did not include police or district attorney employees - pending a review to remove undercover agents.
Nor do the numbers account for dozens of sewer workers who took home six-figure overtime payments last year that were padded by hours worked over the last 15 years.
Those workers - including seven who collected more than $700,000 last year in backpay and overtime due to a legal settlement with the city - were the subject of an exclusive Daily News report yesterday.
The Fire Department blamed its $234 million overtime hit on a federal judge's order barring new hiring until the city can create an entrance exam that is deemed fair to minorities.
"Because we have mandated hiring needs, this results in higher OT," FDNY spokesman Frank Gribbon said.
The FDNY's most recent OT tab is up $41 million from the prior year.
The Sanitation Department blamed its massive $117 million OT bill - up $76 million - on a budget-busting winter that dumped record snowfalls on New York in January. Coming in third was the Department of Correction, where workers collected $112 million last year - up from $98 million the year before.
The housing authority - where overtime hit $92 million last year - cited the size of its sprawling system as the need to keep workers on duty past their regular shifts.
"NYCHA's plumbers, carpenters and mechanics respond to emergencies 24 hours a day to serve residents' needs," a spokeswoman said.
City officials defended the bank-busting expenses as a necessity, saying it's cheaper to pay fewer workers overtime than pay the pensions and health benefits of more employees. Experts say it's hard to know if that's true without a thorough review.
The city's overall payroll expenses are up, even as the headcount is down. The expenses are influenced by rising health care and pension costs - as well as hefty overtime pay.
Overtime can also increase pension costs since some employees pad their pensions by racking up extra hours - and pay - in their final years.
On one hand, you don't have to pay pension, 401K, medical, etc for a new employee. On the other hand, you are forcing someone to go on unemployment or to be unemployed.
I believe that people might abuse the overtime stipulation by slowing and forcing overtime in order to get the extra cash. I have seen MTA employees on the 168 station talk about an employee who came in to work and disappeared for 6 hrs. They said that his was "overdoing it and he might get caught." I can only imagine what the city employees do. I recall that several Sanatation employees were caught sleeping inside their trucks, etc.
The below is outrageous. 100K in overtime, 50K in overtime. Instead of overtime, they should have temps or part-time employees with no benefits. That overtime money could have helped a person during this financial train wreck.
At least 17 workers took in more than $100,000 in overtime last year, including 11 housing authority plumbers.
At least 393 workers made more than $50,000 in overtime, some more than doubling their base pay.
It is a mix of overtime abuse and legitamite overtime needs. However, the bigger picture that everyone understands is:
less workforce + more overtime - benefits - pensions - paperwork - office space = net positive.
Which is exactly why corporate America is not hiring..they don't need to. And if they do need to, they will hire overseas where it is infinitely cheaper, and less regulated, no benefits.
The city is doing the same thing here, and I think we can agree that it is, for the city financially, a net positive. Don't let the usual "scary headlines" confuse you....it is a net positive for the city in the long-term.
It is a mix of overtime abuse and legitamite overtime needs. However, the bigger picture that everyone understands is:
less workforce + more overtime - benefits - pensions - paperwork - office space = net positive.
Which is exactly why corporate America is not hiring..they don't need to. And if they do need to, they will hire overseas where it is infinitely cheaper, and less regulated, no benefits.
The city is doing the same thing here, and I think we can agree that it is, for the city financially, a net positive. Don't let the usual "scary headlines" confuse you....it is a net positive for the city in the long-term.
Here's one of those cases where I agree with you 100%
The real problem is our friendly local media, which appears to enjoy burning the candle from both ends with the headlines and implications it seems to enjoy throwing around.
Does anyone think someone working a double shift is actually WORKING a double shift?
Exactly, i highly doubt they're putting 100% effort into it.
I worked for a company where i was salary and any overtime that i had to put in went unpaid. I suggest that these agencies do the same and you will watch how everyone gets their work done on time.
Does anyone think someone working a double shift is actually WORKING a double shift?
Oh, there must be someone who does. I know that whenever I get overtime, I'm working the job, as opposed to sitting around and twiddling my thumbs.
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Our Erin Einhorn reports:
Coming in third was the Department of Correction, where workers collected $112 million last year - up from $98 million the year before.
