Cincinnati City Manager Valerie Lemmie instituted get-tough controls on city overtime spending Wednesday, reversing a more liberal policy instituted just a month ago.

        The new policies could save taxpayers $2 million a year, Ms. Lemmie said.

Lemmie

        The review of city overtime policies followed an investigation by Councilman Pat DeWine, who found that the city pays more than $2.3 million in overtime each year to managers and professional employees exempt from the Fair Labor Standards Act.

        Last year, 586 exempt employees earned overtime. Of those, 55 received more than $10,000, Mr. DeWine found.

        The change in overtime policies came Wednesday in Ms. Lemmie's first major policy report to City Council. She was sworn in April2.

        On March 27, then-Acting City Manager Tim Riordan recommended minor changes to overtime policies. His policy, for example, prohibited any employee from getting more than $7,000 in overtime without the approval of a department director.

        Ms. Lemmie's new policy sets that cap at $3,000 — and requires her personal approval for any exceptions. No overtime will be permitted for department directors, their assistants and other top managers, she said.

        The new policy encourages the use of compensatory “flex time” in lieu of overtime, initiates a study of pay scales for managers receiving overtime and requires an annual audit of city overtime practices.

        “It's a real shift in the way we do things around here,” Mr. DeWine said. “And it's quite a start on the $27 million budget shortfall we're facing next year.”

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