Charleston Gazette-Mail
A recent report from the West Virginia Center on Budget & Policy found that Charleston police officers are increasing overtime by thousands of hours and dollars each year.
Sara Whitaker, author of the report, found that, in fiscal year 2023 (July 2022-June 2023), Charleston officers claimed 78,004 hours of overtime to the tune of almost $3 million. This was $734,152 over what was budgeted for overtime pay, Whitaker said.
According to analysis by the center, in 2020, there were 50,673 hours with a cost of $1.6 million. In 2021, those numbers climbed to 64,808 hours and $2.2 million. In 2022, there were 67,516 hours totaling $2.4 million.
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