As New York City attempts to tackle its multi-billion dollar migrant crisis, city workers have reportedly racked up to 2.6 million hours in overtime, adding up to more than $123.1 million in payouts, due to the issue, according to the New York Post.
Newly released city payroll records from this year showed that 47 of the city’s top 100 agents work at the Department of Social Services (DSS) and the Department of Homeless Services (DHS), both of which include duties in assisting migrants, according to The NY Post. (RELATED: ‘Shame On You’: NYC Mayor Eric Adams Heckled During Trip To Colombia)
The DHS and DSS have a combined total of 2,690,659 hours of overtime, adding up to more than $123.1 million in payouts, according to The NY Post. The jump in hours is not only a 51% increase compared to the 2021 fiscal year, before the migrant crisis, but has spiked overtime earnings by 70 percent.
“New Yorkers are getting the short end of the stick, facing cuts to critical services while migrants get more,” Democrat Queens Councilman Robert Holden told the NY Post. “It’s long past time to stop this nonsense, redirect those buses to the White House, and get back to serving New Yorkers.”
Each of the top workers racked up at least 1,937 hours in overtime pay for the 2023 fiscal year which ended on June 30. One of the top officers, highlighted by the outlet, included DSS eligibility specialist Anthony Pierce who had worked 3,172 hours of overtime which was a 142% increase over the last year.
Pierce’s overtime earnings nearly tripled his roughly $50,000 base salary, adding $136,096 to it. Additional agents within the top 10, clocking in more than 2,500 hours of overtime, included two DSS supervisors, a DSS bookkeeper, and a DHS laborer. (RELATED: Dem Mayors Visit DC To Beg Biden Administration For Migrant Help)
The news of the substantial increase for NYC agencies comes on the heels of New York’s Democrat Mayor Eric Adams announcing on Nov. 16 that city police officers and schools will be facing financial cuts to help aid the city’s migrant crisis. The budget cuts include closing libraries on Sundays as well as freezing the New York Police Department’s (NYPD) hiring.
The New York mayor additionally announced that the city is set to cut 250 school safety agents, suggesting that parents should volunteer to help fill the gaps of the former agents.
While DSS and DHS overtime is not fully attributed to the migrant crisis, both agencies have significantly increased their workloads, stretching agents thin.
“DSS has been at the forefront of the city’s response to the asylum seeker crisis since it began, and we are incredibly grateful to our staff from across the agency who, despite truly unprecedented challenges, have stepped up and worked long hours to provide necessary supports for our newest arrivals,” a DSS spokesman Nicholas Jacobelli told The NY Post.