Dealing With Global Pandemic Led To Overtime Hours For Brick Cops

BRICK, NJ — Like other municipal law enforcement agencies around the United States in 2020, the Brick Police Department was affected dramatically by the coronavirus pandemic. That trend reflected most, however, in the number of hours officers and police officials worked to address COVID-19 related matters, the department’s chief reported on Tuesday.

Police Chief James Riccio said the department paid out more than $120,000 in COVID-19 related overtime pay in 2020 due to the pandemic in a year when the police responded to more than 9,500 calls. In a presentation to the Township Council on Tuesday, Riccio said the biggest obstacle his department faced was one of health while trying to address the added workload.

Riccio characterized the challenges associated with dealing with the pandemic as "unique".

The department paid out a total of $931,246 in overtime pay last year, Riccio said, adding that a total of $127,648 was directly tied to COVID-19 issues. Other overtime pay was paid out to allow officers to investigate homicides in the township while also providing police presence at a number of special events.

Township officials reported that they devoted about $26 million to public safety last year which represents about 25 percent of Brick’s $105 million operating budget.

The public safety costs paid by the township covers a department that includes 277 employees. The police department employs 140 full-time officers, 26 dispatchers, 57 emergency medical workers and other staff, Riccio told the council.

Despite the challenges associated with dealing with a global pandemic, Riccio said that amount of money paid out for overtime was nearly $195,000 less than what he budgeted and more than $40,000 less than what was spent on overtime the previous year.

Looking ahead, Riccio is asking the council for additional funds for EMS equipment as he anticipates the department will need to pay more for medical supplies in the coming year. To that end, Riccio is requesting $2,850 more than he did last year for the same budget expenses in a request that totaled $280,950, the chief told the council in his presentation.

As was the case across the country, the Brick Police Department dealt with revenue losses due to the pandemic. Those losses were dealt with however thanks to federal CARES Act funding that the department received.