BPD cuts overtime hours

For the month of June, the Brockport Police Department will only utilize six hours of overtime. For a department that has averaged more than $200,000 per year, every year for the past five, the idea of only using six hours of overtime is a major accomplishment, Chief Dan Varrenti said.

"A multitude of factors went into the decrease," he said. "Just as a multitude of factors went into the department having to use such an exorbitant amount of overtime in the past several years."

One of the main factors contributing to the excess overtime, Varrenti said, was because the department was trying to operate with two officers per shift seven days a week, 24 hours per day, 365 days per year.

"It's mathematically impossible to cover all of those shifts with a department that consisted of 12 full time officers, including myself," he said. "With the retirement of one of our officers due to illness, we were able to bring in a new officer to fill in the holes in the shift coverage."

Varrenti said the amount of overtime the department has incurred has been "astronomical" and that was partially because he hasn't had a full complement of officers since he started in his position as chief three years ago.

"I've also started to be selective as to the number of officers I put on patrol for special events like the Mardi Gras parade or the upcoming sidewalk sales events," he said. "We've also implemented a policy of only allowing one officer to be off on vacation at a time."

For June, Varrenti said he only has two three-hour shifts to cover.

Varrenti has struggled with the idea of having to use overtime on a regular basis. "Overtime should only be spent above and beyond daily needs - not as a regular, on-going occurrence."

Another policy Varrenti implemented this year was with respect to the officer's qualifying time. Qualifying time is a twice a year mandated test for officers. In the past, Varrenti said, overtime was used for the qualifying time.

"Now when we have three officers on a shift, one of them will go qualify and we will still have two officers on the roads," he said.

Varrenti said officers who qualify do so on weapons and other less lethal forms of restraint including night sticks and Tasers.

"Police departments who have Tasers have seen a 50 to 70 percent decrease in officer and suspect injuries," he said. "If I can keep the officer safe by using up-to-date technology and run the department effectively - that's my ultimate goal."