Off duty gig? Pay the Department $5 an hour please.

[Pudge]

Cincinnati police officers who work extra hours at private businesses soon will have to pay the city back almost $5 for every hour.

The "service charge," as the city and department call it, means that an officer who works off duty, for example, at a library or Kroger, will pay $4.90 for every hour worked. A police officer earns $31 an hour, a rate set by union contract, with amounts increasing by rank to $47 an hour for captains. The money, starting April 15, will come out of their regular paychecks by payroll deduction.
The plan sounds "almost like extortion" to James Pasco, president of the national Fraternal Order of Police. In policing 40 years, he has never heard of anything like it.
"It's basically saying, 'You can work in my town but I'll take five bucks every time you do it,' " he said. "It's become open season on public safety personnel."
The charge is nothing more than "something the city came up with to (help) balance the budget," said Kathy Harrell, president of the Fraternal Order of Police. She and the union's attorney, Steve Lazarus, have been aware of the idea since council passed the budget in December but they're waiting until it goes into effect to determine if a grievance can be filed against the city.
"Officers have already asked us to take legal action," she said.
City officials don't deny the idea of charging officers who work extra came up as a way to raise money in a year when the city's budget deficit was $54.7 million. The charge is expected to collect about $750,000 a year.
The money will offset the administrative costs of managing the off-duty work program. The department started managing the program in-house years ago to provide consistency, to ensure some officers don't work too much and to watch for possible ethical issues, such as when officers work for troubled bars.
Departments elsewhere have faced scandals over off-duty work, including in Fort Lauderdale last year when it was discovered officers worked off-duty for a Ponzi schemer.
Cities handle the work in different ways. In Dayton, for example, officers can't wear their city-issued uniforms or carry the weapons they use on duty. Some, including Miami Beach and Pittsburgh, charge an administrative fee to the businesses who hire the officers.
The city proposed a $3.75-an-hour off-duty surcharge in 2007, but City Council repealed it. This time, council agreed to a budget that included allowing City Manager Milton Dohoney to do it.

More at the link:

City to cops: Pay city for off-duty gigs | Cincinnati.com | cincinnati.com

[Xiphos]

The need to work off duty wouldn't exist if cops were paid well enough to take care of their families in the first place. Especially in the south! I had 2 side jobs in addition to my full time police job. That money the city takes out only insures cops spend more time away from their families.

[BigDawg]

They do that here already, the job gets charged $43.00 per hr. for an Officer or Sgt. or Capt. then they pay Officers $33.00 per Hr. and they pay Sgts and Capts $37.00 per Hr.

[Xiphos]

They do that here already, the job gets charged $43.00 per hr. for an Officer or Sgt. or Capt. then they pay Officers $33.00 per Hr. and they pay Sgts and Capts $37.00 per Hr.

Are they billing the business or the cop?

This is crazy. Nobody skimmed off my off duty gigs.

[Five-0]

We manage our own off duty jobs (within department policy). We also pay for our own off duty job liability insurance. It would be very hard to institute that here.

[213th]

They do that here already, the job gets charged $43.00 per hr. for an Officer or Sgt. or Capt. then they pay Officers $33.00 per Hr. and they pay Sgts and Capts $37.00 per Hr.

Are you talking about off duty detail? Because you said the job gets charged at 43.00. It sounds like you are talking about something set up through the department, like security at a sports game. The article here says for any off duty employment, with a library or Krogers as examples. Charging a sports arena more per hour then what an officer gets paid, to provide security, is a pretty common thing for all types of employment. If I do an at cost job to a customer in my line of work, they get billed far more per hour for me then I get paid. However, if I get an extra job at the gas station, my work doesn't bill me for working off duty. Thats whats happening here and it is wrong.

[121Traffic]

Yep. The only way this would be right would be if the officers still earned their (contract defined?) required pay, and the business was charged a fee by the city. Taking it out of the officers wage is a bit over the top. This is the type of thing that union's are good for...to prevent the officer from being caught in a larger struggle outside of his control and/or paygrade.

[MacLean]

I don't mind that idea.

We make $75 an hour here off duty - or we did until the Chief cut us off. I'd gladly pay $5 an hour to get that back.

[IndianaFuzz]

$75 an hour????????? I'd pay about $25 an hour to make that!

[121Traffic]

I don't mind that idea.

We make $75 an hour here off duty - or we did until the Chief cut us off. I'd gladly pay $5 an hour to get that back.

While $75 is out of this world, I'd still have a problem if they started taking that out of my check. Admittedly less than a problem than at $37 an hour though.

It's the principle of the matter. There's principalities up in this motherf$^%er! (Anyone guess the movie? Anyone? Anyone?)

A comment in the news section said it best. The city (and its taxpayers), along with the business, is already reaping the benefits of the increased officer presence by lower rates of crime and disorder, and increased safety, in those locations. Why bill the cops further for it?

[Twan007]

when you start playing with my money, it's like playing with my emotions...

I've got an idea - how about you give me a $37.00 hour raise - then charge me $50.00 a pay period for the use of the unit...

take that and smoke it in your pipe... that's my counter offer

[lewisipso]

I'd still have a problem if they started taking that out of my check.

This. They want to charge me to work? Charge the security gig and see if they swallow it. I'm not.

[BigDawg]

Are they billing the business or the cop?

This is crazy. Nobody skimmed off my off duty gigs.

They bill the business the full price then pay us the lower amount in our paychecks.

[pgg]

It's almost like having another union take your money

[BigDawg]

Here is an article in today's paper where some local officers are being criminally charged for not turning over the $5 per hr of their off duty to the city.

Two more Golden Beach cops arrested - Aventura / Sunny Isles - MiamiHerald.com

[MacLean]

Criminally charged? WTF?

Never mind, I see how they got there. The fee is to cover their cars and gas.

Same thing is done here, when departments that have take home cars allow off duty work. Usually the client pays it, and it's $8/hr.