He said their limited budget does not allow for overtime work.
“Our officers used to get paid for overtime work during the time of previous commissioners but when I took over, I had to stop it because the department just cannot afford to pay for overtime,” Tudela said.
He added that he has cut overtime assignments when there is no need for overtime work.
“The regular work hours for police officers is 40 hours a week,” he said.
It will have to stay that way until additional funding can be secured to pay the officers for overtime.
But Tudela said that there is no truth to the Taotao Tano letter to the Legislature claiming that police officers are serving without compensation.
According to Greg Cruz of Taotao Tano, “It is a shame that the men and women in uniform who put their lives on the line daily upholding laws and protecting citizens are now forced to work under the legal term ‘pro bono,’ or serving for the public good without compensation.”
“I won’t deny that the funding for DPS is low, but all the officers are receiving wages and just compensation for their work,” Tudela said.
The department’s budget for the current fiscal year $6.1 million.
