YOUNGSTOWN — With city council members objecting to large overtime payments to Youngstown police officers, police Chief Carl Davis said he is limiting that extra pay to 28 hours per week.

Councilwoman Anita Davis, D-6th Ward and a retired Youngstown police detective sergeant, said: “That’s still too much overtime. It’s the dollar issue and the safety factor. I question it because they’re almost doubling their hours. It’s a start, but I’d like to see it come down further. That amount of overtime is a lot.”

In a Wednesday memorandum, Carl Davis wrote: “Effective immediately, all sworn and civilian employees serving in a safety sensitive function shall not physically work more than 28 hours of overtime per week unless extenuating circumstances exist and are given permission by the chief of police.”

He added: “Employees shall be personally responsible for not exceeding this limit and will be subject to disciplinary action if they are found to have physically worked more than 28 hours of overtime in a one-week period, beginning every Saturday and ending on every Friday.”

Davis told The Vindicator on Wednesday: “It’s to address the overtime – to try to bring it down. It’s been an issue with council, and we’re trying to address it.”

Davis said “extenuating circumstances” are those like last year’s Realty Tower explosion that closed a main section of downtown for several months.

He also said the directive applies to all city police officers.

Anita Davis took the lead on the legislative body asking city Finance Director Kyle Miasek on March 5 to have the Ohio auditor’s office conduct a performance audit of the police and fire departments, largely because of the police overtime issue. The details of a performance audit, including the cost, haven’t been finalized.

The councilwoman said she’d “like to think this (overtime reduction plan) was the chief’s initiative. I’ll let everyone make a determination on the timing.”

In 2024, 15 police officers made more than $50,000 in overtime with Detective Sgt. Edward Kenney receiving $150,681 in overtime, which is more than twice his regular salary.

Some officers worked more than 40 hours of overtime a week last year with the police chief defending the practice saying: “The primary driver of increased overtime in 2024 was low staffing.”

Police overtime in 2024 was $3.25 million, up from $2.94 million in 2023.

Most of the overtime went to ranking officers, who are paid more than patrol officers.

In 2024, a starting patrol officer made $21 per hour, which was $31.50 per hour in overtime, while a patrol officer at the top of the scale made $30.04 per hour, which is $45.06 per hour in overtime. A detective sergeant made $34.55 per hour, which is $51.83 per hour in overtime; a lieutenant made $39.73 per hour, which is $59.60 per hour in overtime; and a captain made $45.69 per hour, which is $68.54 per hour in overtime.

Also, the city pays 19.5% of money earned by police officers toward their pensions. Overtime last year cost the city more than $630,000 in pension payments.

The March 5 letter from council to Miasek asked him to request the state auditor review how the two departments manage their resources, including equipment and vehicles; analyze staffing levels with a focus on staffing schedule and overtime practices; the management of contracts; and compliance with established policies and procedures.