New York City Mayor Eric Adams defended the NYPD’s overtime spending during his executive budget rollout on Wednesday, suggesting that critics of the department’s fiscal outlay are either “anti-overtime” or “anti-police.”

Adams had just unveiled his updated $106.7 billion spending plan when he launched into a tangent about police overtime spending, which has faced scrutiny for being excessive. The NYPD’s overtime costs in 2022 were the highest of any city agency, with uniformed cops costing the city $670 million in overtime for that fiscal year, almost double the $354 million allocated in the adopted budget. The fire department spent $392 million on overtime, the second-highest actual overtime cost for that year.

In comparison, non-uniformed agencies spent far less on overtime, with the Department of Social Services racking up the highest OT cost among them at $85.2 million in 2022, and the Parks Department spending around $30 million.

Adams had prefaced his remarks by saying he had discussed the issue with “some City Council members the other day,” adding that he never hears them talking about overtime in any other agency besides the NYPD. He questioned whether the issue was anti-overtime or anti-police, saying that nobody gets riled up about overtime in parks, in the Human Resources Administration, or anywhere else but the NYPD. He added that if it is anti-police, “shame on us.”

Adams retired from the NYPD as a captain and has previously shown support for the department, even as he has also pledged to reform it. Last year, during his campaign for mayor, he received criticism from some activists for accepting campaign donations from police unions. However, he has also expressed support for reforms such as reducing the department’s budget and creating alternative emergency response systems.

The mayor’s defense of the NYPD’s overtime spending has sparked criticism from some city council members, who have argued that excessive overtime is a sign of mismanagement and that the city should be investing in community-based programs instead. However, Adams has maintained that the NYPD needs overtime to maintain public safety and that his spending plan strikes a balance between public safety and investing in communities.

(YWN World Headquarters – NYC)