Ideas on how to trim a Cincinnati Police Department overtime tab that will top $7 million this year face political, legal, and logistical obstacles, including objections from officers who have grown accustomed to the extra dollars in their pay checks, the Cincinnati Enquirer reports. A night court, contract changes giving supervisors greater latitude to change officers’ shifts, and new rules limiting overtime earned by top police managers are among suggestions worth studying, city leaders and others say.
City Council members cite the challenge of persuading the police union to give back what it already has. The union’s negotiating stance could soften, some suggest, if budget constraints such as the $51.5 million shortfall the council now is attempting to erase make it clear that in the future, concessions on overtime and other perks may be the only feasible way to avoid layoffs and furloughs. “If the decision comes down to protecting jobs or protecting overtime, that might change some thinking,” said Councilwoman Leslie Ghiz.