Port Authority officials fail to curb overtime pay

The Newark Star-Ledger reports:

Embarrassed by years of perennially high police overtime costs, Port Authority officials called in an international management consultant two years ago.

The agency paid KPMG $435,000 to evaluate its staffing practices and make suggestions to get things under control. Overtime had jumped 12 percent to $42.9 million over the previous year, and KPMG found plenty of problems -- no cap on overtime, difficulties reassigning staff to open posts, "archaic" record keeping and lenient sick time and disciplinary policies.

The results a year later?

Overtime soared even higher in 2007, hitting $48.9 million -- a 14 percent jump over those already elevated 2006 numbers and the second-highest dollar amount in agency history, behind 2001.

Some members of the department continued to work staggering hours -- a top 10 list includes several officers averaging more than 70 hours a week every week of the year.

Port Authority officials say they implemented some of the reforms suggested by KPMG but found others impossible given the agency's existing contract with the police union that runs through January 2010.

"The study provided us with an outside professional opinion that confirms we're contractually handcuffed," said Marc La Vorgna, a Port Authority spokesman. "Significant portions of the contract absolutely need to be revised when the renewal is negotiated."

A KPMG spokesman declined comment, citing confidentiality issues.

The ballooning overtime costs are more than a budget concern, police experts say, arguing officers who work so many hours can become fatigued and prone to making mistakes.

Overall, the roughly 1,600-member force worked nearly 838,000 hours of overtime -- more than 500 hours per officer on average.

Some officers carried more of the load than others. Port Authority Police Officer Morris Cofield, a 14-year veteran stationed mostly at John F. Kennedy International Airport, logged on average a bit more than 80 hours each and every week in 2007.

That workaholic pace brought a bonanza: His $82,909 base pay skyrocketed with $153,461 in overtime and then extra stipends led to a grand total of $263,468.

The greed of government workers.