Mayor Eric Adams wants to reign in excessive overtime in the NYPD, the FDNY and two other Big Apple departments in the wake of the alleged sex-for-overtime scandal that has rocked the police force.
Hizzoner, in a Monday directive, laid out a set of new rules aimed at cracking down on sky-high OT in the police and fire departments, as well as the Department of Correction and Department of Sanitation — as he announced City Hall will oversee compliance.
Adams wrote in the memo that the four departments “represent a disproportionate share of overtime spending,” and that it’s their “ongoing responsibility of management of each of the Agencies to ensure that overtime is used responsibly and in accordance with the City’s guidelines.”
Three City Hall offices, along with the Office of Management and Budget, are tasked with working with the targeted departments to slash the spending.
“The oversight offices shall work with their Agencies to develop, and thereafter monitor detailed overtime reduction plans, including targets for year-over-year overtime reductions for each fiscal year,” Adams wrote.
The Office of the Chief of Staff, along with the budget office, is specifically providing oversight to the NYPD, which has been under fire after explosive allegations that former Chief of Department Jeffrey Maddrey pressured an underling for sex in exchange for a whopping amount of overtime.
Lt. Quathisha Epps, who logged more than $200,000 in OT to be the highest paid NYPD employee last year, accused Maddrey of sexually harassing her for more than a year – a charge he’s denied.
Still, the NYPD bigwig resigned Friday night shortly after The Post contacted him about the bombshell allegations.
Amid an internal probe into her stunning OT haul, Epps was suspended last week before she leveled the allegations against Maddrey in an exclusive interview with The Post. She is fighting for her reinstatement with an eye on retiring after 19 years on the job.
Adams didn’t mention the raging scandal in his memo.
A City Hall spokesperson told The Post Thursday evening the directive, which took effect immediately, speaks for itself.
The mayor wants each department to submit monthly reports and have monthly meetings with their assigned overnight offices.
A remediation plan might need to be submitted if a department is not slashing enough overtime, Adams added.
He also wrote that the commissioner of each agency must “personally review” the top overtime earners in their department at least once every three months “to ensure overtime is being distributed equitable and to avoid potential abuse.”
“Controlling the use of overtime, including paid compensatory time, shall be the direct responsibility of each Agency’s commissioner,” Adams wrote in one of the new directives. “Approvals for such time usage may be made only by Agency personnel who report directly to the Agency’s commissioner.”
He noted that each agency can still dole out overtime to its workers to “meet emergency service demands.”
But cautioned, “the use of overtime to meet emergency service demands may require a reduction of non-emergency overtime if such emergency costs cause an Agency to overspend against its plan without prior notification.”
NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch has spent much of her first month on the job cleaning house within the department, including high-profile personnel moves.
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