Cleveland workers paid over $40M in overtime so far this year

CLEVELAND, Ohio (WOIO) - The City of Cleveland has already spent tens of millions of dollars in overtime this year alone. As of mid-September, Cleveland has paid workers more than $40 million.

Much of that money is going to first responders, including police, fire and EMS.

Some workers have already made more in overtime this year than they are paid annually. It’s a huge cost to taxpayers.

Council member Mike Polensek chairs the city’s Public Safety Committee. About three quarters of the the city’s overtime has gone to its public safety departments.

Polensek said the council allocated all the money that public safety departments had requested in the beginning of the year. Now, with a record number of workers leaving, he said tensions are mounting.

“Now you’re burning them out and it’s aiding and abetting people leaving the department,” said Polensek.

Cleveland’s fire department has paid over $6 million in overtime this year.

Eight of their workers made about 50% or more of their annual salaries in overtime alone.

The EMS department paid out nearly $2 million in overtime. For instance, one salaried paramedic making $67,000 a year has taken home nearly $79,000 just in overtime.

The police department has spent the most, with over $19 million in overtime.

“We gave them the money, we put in the budget to hire 180 police officers,” said Polensek. “How many they going to hire this year? About 40, if we’re lucky.”

Records show 95 police officers and staff have already made about 50% of their annual incomes in overtime this year.

Eight officers made more in overtime than they make in their annual salaries. Three Level 1 patrol officers with salaries of $74,000 a year have already made over $100,000 in overtime.

“Am I shocked? Hell no,” said Polensek. “We don’t have enough people within these departments, in these sections.”

As a result, those three officers are being paid more than the police chief makes. This year the city budgeted $14.7 million dollars in overtime for the police department. $13 million of that was for uniformed officers. That means the department is already 33% over its entire overtime budget for the year.

Polensek said the city administration needs to focus on recruiting and retaining first responders, before it’s too late.

“So you can see, we’re not even treading water here,” said Polensek. “We’re the Titanic.”

A total of 99 officers left the force between January 2023 and July 2023.

In August, the city announced a new police recruitment and incentives package that included a 50% increase in cadet salary and a sign-on bonus of up to $5,000.

Mayor Justin Bibb said the volume of new applications went up 53% in the weeks following the announcement.

When asked about overtime spending, a spokesperson for the city sent the following written statement to 19 Investigates:

“The Cleveland Division of Police has 1,224 members as of September 11, 2023. We are working on scheduling academy classes to fill vacancies to put more officers on the streets. In order to comply with staffing recommendations, officers are eligible for overtime, consequently influencing the budget. Our officers are working hard to serve the city.”

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