Report: State paid out $34.4 million in overtime last year

Wednesday, June 12, 2002 | 9:50 a.m.

CARSON CITY -- The state, which is supposed to be saving money because of tough budget times, has paid $34.4 million in overtime to its employees this fiscal year, which ends June 30.

Four agencies accounted for 75 percent of the overtime bill.

State Budget Director Perry Comeaux presented the information Tuesday to the state Board of Examiners, which wanted more time to study the report.

Comeaux said afterward it was about the same amount of overtime accumulated in past years, but it came as a big expense at a time when the state is facing a budget shortfall.

He added that the current hiring freeze should not spark more overtime by employees. That would be counter-productive, pushing up costs in one area when there are savings in another, he said.

Agencies have been told to watch their overtime. When supervisors ask for permission to fill a position, they are asked whether it would cut down on overtime and save money, Comeaux said.

The state Department of Corrections, with 2,300 employees, was at the top of the list with $9 million spent in overtime. Employees were paid $8.2 million and took $831,900 in comp time, or time off.

Part of the problem was scheduling. The prisons started a system where an officer worked three days at 12-hour shifts one week and four 12-hour shifts the following week. That gave officers an automatic four hours of overtime every two-week payday, legislative money experts said.

"Some administrators had some confusion on how to schedule a 12-hour shift," Glen Whorton, assistant corrections director, said. But training of wardens and associate wardens on how to handle the scheduling has resulted in a drop in the overtime, he added.

The chart presented by Comeaux showed there were an average of 137 hours of overtime authorized for every full-time prison employee this year.

"In about the last two months, we've made huge strides in reducing overtime," Whorton said. "Next year you're not going to see us in the situation we have right now."

Before the overtime numbers were presented, the board recommended approval of an emergency allocation of $935,977 for the prison system to handle projected budget shortfalls. That was despite the fact there are 500 fewer inmates in the system than was predicted.

The prison system said its medical costs were higher than expected.

Second highest on the overtime list was Human Resources, with nearly 3,800 employees. The department includes such agencies such as mental health, child and family services and welfare, many of which must be staffed 24 hours a day. They accumulated $6.1 million in overtime costs.

Public Safety, which includes the Nevada Highway Patrol, racked up $5.8 million in overtime costs. The Department of Transportation posted $5.2 million in overtime.

The remaining 93 agencies on the list reported a total of just over $8 million in overtime.