Port Authority Overtime Costs Continue to Spike

Overtime costs continue to rise at the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey.The authority released second-quarter numbers on Wednesday.

For civilian employees, total overtime rose about 28 percent compared to 2012, to a total of 532,000 hours. Excluding weather events, the number fell 16,000 hours to 373,000 hours, though that was still over the budgeted number by 13,000 hours.

The increase is blamed partly on unfilled vacancies and new security posts initiated at the George Washington Bridge and Port Authority bus terminal.

Police overtime totaled 461,000 hours, more than 130,000 hours over budget. The Port Authority didn't say how much money was spent on overtime.

The agency has focused on reducing overtime in the wake of critical reports by an outside auditor.

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