After restrictions, Chesapeake police save on overtime

CHESAPEAKE

In the four months since Kelvin Wright was named police chief, he has cut overtime spending significantly and hired a former Marine recruiter to attract new police officers.

Wright said a new policy that places tighter restrictions on overtime and makes bureau commanders responsible for approval has cut spending to an amount he calls appropriate.

Police worked 17,932 overtime hours between Jan. 30 and April 15, the department reported. That dropped by more than 9,000 hours between April 30 and June 30. Costs fell by more than half during that same period, to $267,339.

Wright said he made the change May 15. What was once "for the most part, blanket approval" of overtime is now signed off on if it's needed to maintain the same level of services, he said.

That includes adequate coverage, Wright said.

An independent review of the police department released this week addressed overtime, showing that costs jumped 195 percent from fiscal 2004 to 2006.

By fiscal year 2008, which runs from July 1, 2007, to June 30, 2008, however, overtime costs were down $577,207 from the previous year, bringing the total to $1.59 million.

Still, one sergeant and one detective lieutenant picking up extra hours were paid more than three majors that year, the report said. A master police officer, a non-supervisory position, earned more than some captains, it said. A sergeant had the third-highest earnings in the department in 2007, racking up more than $48,000 in overtime, according to the review.

It was the second report released since June that highlighted overtime spending within Chesapeake's primary public safety departments.

Overtime jumped from $2.4 million to $6.9 million citywide from 2003 to 2007. The police and fire departments were the catalysts for that growth; a recent city audit of the fire department showed it spent $2.86 million in fiscal year 2007.

Officials from both departments have cited a high number of vacancies as a main reason for that increase. Fire officials say they have already dramatically reduced overtime thanks to 65 new recruits.

Similarly, Wright said a class of 33 police recruits scheduled to graduate this month will also cut down on the need for overtime.

And the department is still hiring, with the help of a new position dedicated solely to recruitment.

Horace Anderson, a retired Marine and nine-year veteran on Chesapeake's police force, took on the job earlier this month. Previously, recruitment was an extra duty that fell to a number of others in the department, Wright said.

Anderson was a Marine Corps recruiter for six years, once earning the title of Recruiter of the Year.

"The goal is to create as much exposure for the department as we possibly can, to let folks know we are here and we are hiring," Anderson said.

Most police departments in Hampton Roads already have someone dedicated to recruitment.

Anderson said he will attend as many job fairs and visit as many military bases and schools as possible - with buttons and pens in hand - to drum up awareness of the Chesapeake police force. He recently did a one-hour radio spot and plans to advertise online.

"I want us to be known not just in Tidewater but in other places as well," Anderson said.

Kristin Davis, (757) 222-5208, kristin.davis@pilotonline.com