Government Employment Ripoff - Overtime

It's a shock when the folks that are supposed to be paragons of ethical conduct act for years like they don't know the meaning of the word. I am referring to overtime abuse by the police and fire departments documented in the Houston Chronicle Wednesday front page article "Mayor has police, fire overtime on agenda".

- Police officers and their spokesmen have been silent on the abuse of overtime, no doubt due to the fact that overtime averaged over $10,000 per officer. At what point is such conduct abusive? Have they even asked themselves this question?

- The overtime is partiallly justified because of "excessive absenteeism" and mismanagement of "holiday time" by police and fire commanders and the rank and file, but in another portion of the article it is documented that most police officers and firemen "banked sick and vacation time that can result in a hefty check" upon retiring. Banking sick/vacation pay while racking up unconscionable OT is a classic double-dip, and it's depressing that so many officers and firemen are participating in the scam.

- Per the article, police officers, firefighters and their spokesmen seem to feel that overtime is an Entitlement. The closest they come to wanting to bring it under control is their agreement with Mayor Parker that it "needs to be spread more equitably".

- Surprisingly, the article failed to make any mention that this abuse happened throughout the White administration, and he did nothing about it. For one example, he presided over a 50% increase in HPD funding during his six years without putting a single additional cop on the streets. Did he simply bury his head in the sand?

- It's ironic that just half of the $50 million in yearly OT for HPD could have been used to hire another 600 policemen, greatly reducing crime, human misery, and not coincidentally, the burden on taxpayers, since every crime avoided saves at least $100,000 on the costs of investigation, apprehension, prosecution and incarceration. The Overtime scam keeps our police force artificially small, enables more crime - and not coincidentally - is then used as justification for more Overtime.

It's disappointing that apparently most of Houston's Finest and those who govern them prefer the status quo, with nary a concern for overburdened taxpayers, many of whom will have to postpone their own retirement so as to pay the excessive wages and retirement benefits for a generation of cops and firefighters, virtually all of whom will retire between the ages 45 and 55, living large and apparently guilt-free on the taxpayer dime.

It's a crying shame, is what it is. But do you suppose any of them feel that way?