Fairfax County police Detective Richard L. Weeks didn't stopto think that the $98,000 he was paid last year, including $43,600in overtime, might raise a few eyebrows -- even if he did make morethan Police Chief M. Douglas Scott.
But Weeks and several other police officers whose pay hoverednear the $100,000 mark thanks to overtime are being held out by someFairfax County supervisors as the latest symbols of aonce-prosperous government that is spending beyond its means.
If it keeps spending at its current pace, the countygovernment's overtime payments will total $26.6 million for thefiscal year that ends June 30, representing a 75 percent increase insuch costs in just four years. The money, most of which goes topolice and sheriff's officers and firefighters, is a biggerpercentage of payroll costs for Fairfax than it is for other localgovernments.Facing a three-week deadline in their mission to eliminate a$150 million shortfall from the 1997 budget, some on the countyBoard of Supervisors are questioning how that overtime money isused.'We've got people who are racking up . . . overtime like youwouldn't believe,' said Supervisor Elaine N. McConnell(R-Springfield). 'Some of that is our own fault because of thedemands we put on staff to be at meetings and attend public hearingsand stuff like that. But maybe it's time that we set some strictguidelines on overtime and see if we can clear the decks on this.'About 500 uniformed Fairfax police officers crowded a budgethearing yesterday, however, to demand that pay be exempted frombudget cutting. 'We are willing to lose positions if we absolutelymust, but we are . . . of one mind that no pay or benefit erosion isacceptable,' police union President J.D. Fowler said to raucousapplause.Fairfax and other jurisdictions across the region are usingovertime to fill the gap when jobs are left vacant to cut costs.In Fairfax, the police, sheriff's and fire departments, whichspend more than 80 percent of the county's overtime payments, arecoming under close scrutiny from auditors and supervisors because ofthe relatively high pay some receive because of overtime.At least four police officers made more last year than Scott's$93,400 pay. The highest-paid, Harvey L. Lyles, made more than$102,000.Fairfax builds much of that overtime into its budget. A thirdgoes to pay police officers to attend roll call (so they spend anentire shift on the street). Among other activities, officers in theK-9 corps draw overtime by feeding and walking their dogs, andofficers are paid overtime for providing security at high schoolfootball and basketball games.While the overtime is a morale booster and can help addressgaps in staffing, critics warn that the levels of overtime beingpaid represent a problem that ultimately could cost the county morethan it saves. 'What they're doing is operating on a wing and aprayer. It's not a healthy way to go,' said Morton Feldman,executive vice president of the National Association of Chiefs ofPolice. If overtime rises too high, efficiency drops, he said.At the same time, cutting overtime too much can carry costs.In the District, arrests are down, and prosecutors complain thatpolice are failing to keep track of witnesses and gather enoughevidence for trials. Detectives and others blame those problemspartly on pay cuts and severe limits on overtime.In Fairfax, overtime pay has grown dramatically. In fiscal1993, the county spent $15.2 million. In the first three quarters ofthis fiscal year, the payments are projected to top $20 million, andthey would rise to $26.6 million for the year at that pace. Thecounty budgeted $17 million for overtime out of a total countybudget of $1.6 billion. The 1995 overtime costs of $19 millionrepresented 5.3 percent of Fairfax's payroll. By comparison,Montgomery County spent $11 million in 1995, or 3.8 percent of itstotal payroll, while Arlington spent $6 million, or 4 percent.Fairfax routinely overspends its overtime budget by at least$1 million to $2 million each year, so supervisors say they areskeptical that the $19 million that County Executive William J.Leidinger has budgeted for next year will hold.'It's just too high. We've simply got to do a better job ofmanaging overtime,' said Supervisor Robert B. Dix Jr. (R-HunterMill).For many police officers and firefighters, a limit on overtimewould be a deep pay cut for employees who already say their pay istoo low. Weeks said the overtime that brought his pay to $98,000last year was essential to meet the costs of sending two children tocollege. 'My lifestyle is not what you would call luxurious,' saidWeeks, a divorced father of three. 'I drive an '87 Toyota with about135,000 miles on it. It's not like I'm taking this money and goingout buying a new sports car.'Chief Scott said any order to curtail overtime would carry aprice. It would 'definitely have an effect on morale' and could hurtrecruiting.'We use it as a recruiting tool,' he said. 'In any police job,a recruiter is going to mention' overtime.Still, some public safety officers recognize that the era ofovertime-laden paychecks may be ending. 'The responsible solution isnot to perpetuate the overtime situation,' said R. Michael Mohler,president of Fairfax County Professional Fire Fighters andParamedics.Given the choice between cutting overtime or important humanservices programs, he added, 'If I were a supervisor, it wouldn't bethe homeless shelter that I'd cut.'
