State needs to get grip on OT spending

In this space, we occasionally like to revisit past editorials and provide updates on whether progress has been made on some burning as well as evergreen issues.

Today, we’re doing the opposite. We’re documenting the arc of state overtime spending and bookmarking it to demand progress in the months and years to come.

It’s a standard approach of administrators with expertise in running big businesses in the private sector. People such as Ned Lamont, who leaned on his corporate resume as an advantage in his pledge to turn around Connecticut’s financial fortunes as governor.

In the last fiscal year, Connecticut spent $234.3 million on overtime, $6.1 million more the previous total.

A $6 million increase is not the right direction. Connecticut agencies may need benchmarks to ensure managers get the message that just about everyone else in the state has understood for a decade.

During this era of let’sjustblameformer Gov. Dan Malloy, keep in mind that the state — remarkably — did not start tracking overtime until 2013. No one can manage bills without knowing how much they’re spending.

Malloy chipped down overtime spending from $256.1 million in 2015 to $219 million in 2016 and $204.4 million in 2017. That’s a difference of $52 million in two years.

State officials know where to look. According to CT News Junkie, 93 percent of overtime spending came from five agencies: The departments of Correction (DOC), Mental Health and Addiction Services (DMHAS), Children and Families (DCF), Emergency Services and Public Protection (DESPP) and Developmental Services (DDS).

Three of those departments — DMHAS, DDS, and DCF — showed progress year over year, while DESPP recorded a spike of 33 percent. Though the prison population dropped by almost 7,000 from about 20,000, OT expenditures rose by 6.4 percent.

The state’s numbercrunchers have plenty to crunch, starting with Corrections and Emergency Services. The 18,333 workers who earned overtime in the last fiscal year marked an increase of 1,000 workers from the previous 12 months. Spreading the cash among workers has several advantages, but it needs to result in less spending.

The extra income for the workers is not insignificant. DESPP, which includes state police, logged 1,212 workers who collected an average of $21,675 in overtime. That’s more than the federal poverty line for a family of three.

Overtime debates in Connecticut inevitably raise the question of how it impacts the dreaded P word. The state tweaked the equation two years ago, so workers nearing retirement can no longer boost their pensions in their final years of employment.

Behind the scenes, managers often prefer a lopsided OT ledger to hiring more staff because new workers bring in expensive health costs. But overtime also means workers handling sensitive matters could be doing so while weary. The alphabet soup of agencies happen to carry responsibilities for atrisk families, prisoners and people battling mental health issues.

Labor Day weekend has officially begun, but Gov. Lamont has some work to do.

In the last year, Connecticut spend $234.3 million on overtime, $6.1 million more the previous total.