PRESS RELEASE: Cumberland GOP Freeholder Candidates Say County Overtime Pay Is Ridiculous

Reacting to a story on Nj.com, Republican candidates for Cumberland County Freeholder, Arvene Kilby Hays and Frank Spatola, Jr, said that “overtime pay is a symptom of county government’s problems.”

Their release is below:

Kilby Hays And Spatola, Jr. Say County Overtime Pay Is Ridiculous

Cutting overtime pay in half could lead to development of a county parks system

VINELAND – Republican candidates for Cumberland County Freeholder, Arvene Kilby Hays and Frank Spatola, Jr, said today that a recent news report concerning overtime pay is a symptom of county government’s problems.

At issues is, according to a recently published report, Cumberland County pays a higher percentage of payroll in overtime than any of its neighboring counties.

“Last year Cumberland County spent 7.8% of payroll on overtime, or $4.5 million,” Arvene Kilby Hays said. “Throughout this campaign Frank and I have said there are numerous places the fat in the budget can be trimmed, overtime pay is a perfect example.”

According to the published report, it appears overtime pay is “highest among corrections officers at county jails where authorities say shifts cannot go unfilled.”

Kilby Hays asked, “Why is there so much overtime? Why are there vacancies? Why don't correction officers want to work in this county? Are there poor work conditions for our correction officers?”

“Perhaps conditions at the jail need to be improved,” Kilby Hays remarked.

“Nearly 8 percent of payroll spent on overtime is ridiculous, any way you look at it.” Frank Spatola, Jr explained, “I’ve run my business for 30 years, if I were spending almost 8 percent of payroll on overtime my accountant wife would tell me it might be time to close the doors. I probably wouldn’t be making a profit. For government to mismanage payroll in this manner is worse because it’s not their money, it’s the taxpayers’ money.”

“Imagine if we could cut that overtime in half, that would be $2.25 million saved, money that could be spent to improve the quality of life in Cumberland County, maybe even start the county parks system as adopted in the Cumberland County Open Space and Recreation Master Plan seven years ago,” Spatola, Jr said.

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