A new audit found that the Nassau County Police Department spent millions of dollars in overtime without proper budgeting, but the police commissioner is blasting the report as inaccurate and suggesting there's an agenda behind it.
The audit by the office of Nassau Comptroller George Maragos found that the county spent $315.2 million on overtime from 2009 to 2014, and that overtime earnings were over-budget in that six-year period by 44 percent.
Police Commissioner Thomas Krumpter argues that the department is saving in other areas. "In 2014 alone through attrition the county cut $140 million in salary costs. That's 500 less paychecks, that's 500 less health insurance [policies] for the rest of cops' lives," he says.
Maragos says precinct captains don't understand the rules, which he says are "inconsistent and inconsistently applied." He also said there is a lack of feedback to senior officers, but Krumpter argued that's simply untrue.
"I have no idea why he would make a statement as bold as that," Krumpter said.
The commissioner says he meets with his chiefs on a weekly basis to go over overtime, and says they're all held accountable. "We look at every arrest. We look at every detail," he says.
Maragos' report made several recommendations, including implementing new policies to "streamline the efficiency of police activities," employing an outside consultant for a cost-benefit analysis, and computerizing records to minimize human error and make the reasons for overtime more clear.
"I can't speak to his motive," Krumpter said of Maragos. "I can tell you that the report is the most inaccurate audit I have ever seen."