Free Daily Headlines :

  • COVID-19
  • Vaccine Info
  • Money
  • Politics
  • Education
  • Health
  • Justice
  • More
    • Environment
    • Economic Development
    • Gaming
    • Investigations
    • Social Services
    • TRANSPORTATION
  • Opinion
    • CT Viewpoints
    • CT Artpoints
DONATE
Reflecting Connecticut’s Reality.
    COVID-19
    Vaccine Info
    Money
    Politics
    Education
    Health
    Justice
    More
    Environment
    Economic Development
    Gaming
    Investigations
    Social Services
    TRANSPORTATION
    Opinion
    CT Viewpoints
    CT Artpoints

LET�S GET SOCIAL

Show your love for great stories and out standing journalism

Auditors: More state police needed to control surging overtime

  • Money
  • by Keith M. Phaneuf
  • September 22, 2020
  • View as "Clean Read" "Exit Clean Read"

Connecticut State Police Union

State police union members rally at the State Capitol in August 2011, when then-Gov. Dannel P. Malloy sought concessions from state employee unions.

More than half of the state troopers surveyed in a recent audit earned more overtime than base pay, including some who more than doubled their regular salaries.

But there’s no easy way to reduce state police overtime pay when the number of troopers is down nearly 20% from a decade ago, when their ranks still fell nearly 200 positions short of a statutory minimum.

“The Department of Emergency Services and Public Protection should work with the executive and legislative branches to increase its staffing levels and ensure that it can meet scheduling requirements without incurring significant overtime costs,” Auditors John C. Geragosian and Robert Kane wrote in their latest report.

The department’s single-largest component is the Division of State Police.

Hefty overtime costs strain the state budget in the short term and inflate pension costs over the long haul, the auditors added.

The audit released Tuesday reviewed a sample of 80 troopers from barracks with major overtime expenses in the 2019 fiscal year and found 45 of those troopers, or 56%, made more in OT than in base pay. Some collected enough overtime to equal 244% of their salaries.

The troopers studied in the audit had base salaries in 2019 that ranged from $44,129 to $83,137 per year, while their overtime earnings fell between $50,968 to $190,677. 

Geragosian and Kane also found more than 3,100 instances in which employees earned 15 hours of pay or more in one day.

The department incurred more than $19.7 million in overtime costs in the 2017-18 fiscal year and nearly $26.3 million in 2018-19, the auditors wrote.

And while final totals for the 2019-20 fiscal year, which concluded June 30, weren’t available Tuesday, the department was on pace for another round of hefty overtime spending.

The legislature’s nonpartisan Office of Fiscal Analysis estimated overtime expenses at $24.9 million — through the first nine months of the 2019-20 fiscal year.

“It is incredibly difficult to run the state police at less than 900 troopers and it creates incredible exposure in overtime spending,” department spokesman Brian Foley said.

The state police division currently has 856 troopers, though another 84 are scheduled to graduate from the training academy in October.

By comparison, Connecticut had 1,050 troopers in 2011 when the state police union began a three-year court battle with then-Gov. Dannel P. Malloy over staffing levels.

Malloy, who inherited a record-setting budget deficit when he took office nine years ago, laid off 56 troopers after the union rejected his call for wage and benefit concessions. But the struggle involved more than just pink slips.

Connecticut had a statute at the time mandating a minimum trooper contingent of 1,248 — a standard that governors and legislatures routinely waived in the years just prior to the Malloy administration.

Ultimately, Malloy would reverse the layoffs, legislators would repeal the minimum staffing quota, and the union would drop its lawsuit.

But Malloy, who faced a sluggish economy and frequent budget deficits, would continue to shrink employment through attrition, among the state police and other agencies, throughout his tenure.

Between 2011 and 2018, Executive Branch staffing declined by about 10%.

Division officials continue to analyze staffing data to stem the rise in  overtime, but believe a contingent of at least 1,000 troopers would be needed to significantly mitigate the problem, Foley added.

Sign up for CT Mirror's free daily news summary.

Free to Read. Not Free to Produce.

The Connecticut Mirror is a nonprofit newsroom. 90% of our revenue comes from people like you. If you value our reporting please consider making a donation. You'll enjoy reading CT Mirror even more knowing you helped make it happen.

YES, I'LL DONATE TODAY

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Keith M. Phaneuf A winner of numerous journalism awards, Keith Phaneuf has been CT Mirror’s state finances reporter since it launched in 2010. The former State Capitol bureau chief for The Journal Inquirer of Manchester, Keith has spent most of 31 years as a reporter specializing in state government finances, analyzing such topics as income tax equity, waste in government and the complex funding systems behind Connecticut’s transportation and social services networks. A former contributing writer to The New York Times, Keith is a graduate of and a former journalism instructor at the University of Connecticut.

SEE WHAT READERS SAID

RELATED STORIES
There’s a plan to get rid of property tax on cars. But how would towns make up the difference?
by Keith M. Phaneuf

Adjusting the 70% assessment ratio on homes is one option

A little-known technical bill could be the key to more money for core programs
by Keith M. Phaneuf

Appropriations Committee leaders have a new strategy to more pump state dollars into education, social services and health care.

Auditors: UConn Hartford campus construction cost $30M more than budgeted
by Keith M. Phaneuf

Construction and renovations combined originally were priced at $87 million. Final cost: $116.7 million.

CT to start collecting family-leave tax from its workers next week
by Keith M. Phaneuf

The state will begin deducting the new tax to support family and medical leave benefits from non-union employees this month.

CT continues to get high marks for improved fiscal management
by Keith M. Phaneuf

Connecticut received high marks from a nationally recognized think-tank for its huge reserves, its fiscal planning and its budget transparency.

Support Our Work

Show your love for great stories and outstanding journalism.

$
Select One
  • Monthly
  • Yearly
  • Once
Artpoint painter
CT ViewpointsCT Artpoints
Opinion Redistricting in Connecticut 2021: It is worth your attention
by Patricia Rossi

This is the year for redistricting in the United States. Maps drawn in 2021 will define which voters can vote for which candidates for the next ten years.  That means ensuring that the 2021 maps are fair and representative of their communities is critically important.

Opinion Lembo: Legislators should let constituents share the success of their health plan.
by Comptroller Kevin Lembo

The health care crisis in Connecticut continues. Bills under consideration in Connecticut expand subsidies, attempt to lower prescription drug costs and address long-standing health care inequities. There is room to incorporate the best of each if it helps make health care in our state more affordable, equitable and accessible. But Senate Bill 842 is the only bill that provides short and long-term help for small businesses, nonprofits and certain labor unions.

Opinion Will the Comptroller open the state-run healthcare plan’s books?
by Wyatt Bosworth

What choices do you have when you cannot defend a policy issue on its merits? One path is that chosen by former New Britain Democratic Town Committee chair Bill Shortell in his April 14 Viewpoints opinion piece, “Debunking the CBIA’s takedown of the public option healthcare bill.” Instead of defending any perceived merits associated with the proposed expansion of state-run healthcare in Connecticut, Shortell attacks the messenger. In this case, two organizations that have raised legitimate —and unanswered— questions about that proposal.

Opinion Climate action now to insure Connecticut’s future
by Commissioners Andrew Mais and Katie Dykes

Connecticut has had nine weather-related federal disaster declarations in the past 11 years, totaling more than $362 million in damages. For Storms Irene, Sandy, and the 2011 October Nor’easter, insurers paid out more than $1 billion to cover insured damages in Connecticut. The climate crisis is upon us. The science is clear. We must act now.

Artwork Grand guidance
by Anne:Gogh

In a world of systemic oppression aimed towards those of darker skintones – representation matters. We are more than our equity elusive environments, more than numbers in a prison and much more than victims of societal dispositions. This piece depicts a melanated young man draped in a cape ascending high above multiple forms of oppression. […]

Artwork Shea
by Anthony Valentine

Shea is a story about race and social inequalities that plague America. It is a narrative that prompts the question, “Do you know what it’s like to wake up in new skin?”

Artwork The Declaration of Human Rights
by Andres Chaparro

Through my artwork I strive to create an example of ideas that reflect my desire to raise social consciousness, and cultural awareness. Jazz music is the catalyst to all my work, and plays a major influence in each piece of work.”

Artwork ‘A thing of beauty. Destroy it forever’
by Richard DiCarlo | Derby

During times like these it’s often fun to revisit something familiar and approach things with a different slant. I have been taking some Pop culture and Art masterpieces and applying the vintage 1960’s and 70’s classic figures (Fisher Price, little people) to the make an amusing pieces. Here is my homage to Fisher -Price, Yellow […]

Twitter Feed
A Twitter List by CTMirror

Engage

  • Reflections Tickets & Sponsorships
  • Events
  • Donate
  • Newsletter Sign-Up
  • Submit to Viewpoints
  • Submit to ArtPoints
  • Economic Indicator Dashboard
  • Speaking Engagements
  • Commenting Guidelines
  • Legal Notices
  • Contact Us

About

  • About CT Mirror
  • Announcements
  • Board
  • Staff
  • Sponsors and Funders
  • Donors
  • Friends of CT Mirror
  • History
  • Financial
  • Policies
  • Strategic Plan

Opportunity

  • Advertising and Sponsorship
  • Speaking Engagements
  • Use of Photography
  • Work for Us

Go Deeper

  • Steady Habits Podcast
  • Economic Indicator Dashboard
  • Five Things

The Connecticut News Project, Inc. 1049 Asylum Avenue, Hartford, CT 06105. Phone: 860-218-6380

© Copyright 2021, The Connecticut News Project. All Rights Reserved. Website by Web Publisher PRO