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The illegal alien crisis proved a cash cow for some New York City employees as millions in overtime hours amounted to a taxpayer tab of nearly $140 million.
Whether viewed as managed decline or the consequences of ceding charge to ideologues, cities around the nation have suffered exorbitant costs and dangerous consequences as a result of the open border crisis. Now, as safety claims were belied by deadly incidents and New York City Mayor Eric Adams sought to crack down on select overtime, some of the worst offenders weren’t being addressed adding to the $6.5 billion tab wrought by illegal aliens.
According to a review by the New York Post, of the 100 employees who made the most in overtime for the fiscal year that ended June 30, 51 were from the Departments of Social Services and Homeless Services with at least 1,851 hours in extra pay each.
Amounting to a combined total of 2,959,114 hours and a total of about $139.4 million for the departments, some of their employees took home nearly triple their base salary in overtime.
“Leading the way was Kashwayne Burnett, a DSS bookkeeper who worked 3,303 hours of overtime in the agency’s Manhattan office,” detailed the Post. “That comes to roughly 14 hours a day, seven days a week. The 10-year veteran’s $164,760 in overtime pay more than tripled his $60,445 base salary.”
Behind Burnett were DSS caseworker Bardhan Pijush at 3,137 hours in overtime and DHS housekeeper Gavin McAuley at 2,664 hours.
Meanwhile, during the prior fiscal year, 47 employees of the two departments had been included in the top 100 for overtime compared to the year before that when only three employees made the list.
Reacting to the report, City Councilman Robert Holden (D) told the newspaper that the crisis “has been a major drain” on resources but the overtime hours are “absolutely staggering.”
“We simply can’t continue down this path. It has to end, and taxpayers are sick of it,” he added while DSS spokesperson Neha Sharma expressed how “extremely grateful” the agency was for employees who “despite truly unprecedented challenges, have stepped up and worked long hours to provide necessary support for our newest arrivals and long-term New Yorkers in need.”
“It is because of our remarkable staff that the City of New York can continue to do more than any other level of government to support asylum seekers while providing robust services and support to vulnerable New Yorkers,” she added with more than 50,000 aliens still reaping benefits off the backs of taxpayers.
Ahead of the report on the excessive sums getting paid out, Adams had announced in response to an alleged sex-for-overtime scandal within the New York Police Department that City Hall would now be overseeing the overtime of the NYPD and FDNY as well as the Departments of Correction and Sanitation.
“The oversight offices shall work with their Agencies to develop and thereafter monitor detailed overtime reduction plans, including targets for year-over-year overtime reductions for each fiscal year,” the memo from Adams read. “All of the provisions of this Mayoral Directive apply regardless of whether the Agency employees receive paid overtime or compensatory time.”
The decision came after NYPD Lt. Quatisha Epps accused now-former Chief of Department Jeffrey Maddrey of pressuring her for sexual favors in exchange for overtime, of which she had accrued over $200,000 worth in the previous year. Amid denials of the accusations, Maddrey resigned from his post the Friday before Christmas.
NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch reacted in a statement, “Last night, I accepted the resignation of Chief of Department Jeffrey Maddrey. The NYPD takes all allegations of sexual misconduct seriously, and will thoroughly investigate this matter.”
Last night, I accepted the resignation of Chief of Department Jeffrey Maddrey. The NYPD takes all allegations of sexual misconduct seriously, and will thoroughly investigate this matter.
Chief John Chell will now serve as Interim Chief of Department, and Chief Philip Rivera will…
— Jessica S. Tisch (@NYPDPC) December 21, 2024
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