Nassau police overtime expected to go $10 million over budget

The Nassau County Police Department is expected to go at least $10 million over budget on overtime spending this year, a slight improvement from past years when the department exceeded projections by up to $31 million.

County Executive Bruce Blakeman has allocated as much as $60 million for overtime pay in the police department in the last several years. Each year, the department spends more than what was approved. From 2023 and 2025, Nassau police went anywhere from $22 million to $31 million over budget on overtime pay.

The department as a whole accounts for nearly a quarter of the county’s total budget at $1.1 billion.

Police Commissioner Patrick Ryder made the revelation at the first public hearing Monday on next year's proposed $4.6 billion Nassau County budget, where Democratic legislators questioned Ryder on why the police department's overtime budget does not reflect actual spending.

"This is not an anti-law enforcement issue," Legis. Scott Davis (D-Rockville Centre) said. "I’m just saying, let’s be realistic about what that number is, because what it does is ... you’re adding millions of dollars that’s not in the budget."

Going over budget prompts municipalities to take on debt or dip into reserve funds, experts previously told Newsday.

The county’s Office of Legislative Budget Review estimates that police overtime this year is higher than Ryder’s estimate of $70 million, running closer to $84 million, Davis said.

In response, Ryder said the unplanned overtime was caused in part by having to backfill for veteran officers who left the force as part of a buyout program earlier this year.

But, he continued, "This is not just about staffing." Overtime largely stems from staffing protests, rallies and parades, Ryder said.

"When the world is the world that it is today, every single event in Nassau County requires some kind of security," he said. Nassau County had "hardly any" protests in 2018, Ryder said. But now, there are about 150 to 200 protests per year, he said.

Davis said events and protests "should be baked into" the proposed overtime budget.

Blakeman’s proposed 2027 budget allocates $620 million for police department salaries, wages and fees, a 3% increase from 2026. That includes the $60 million budgeted for overtime and the addition of three dozen more officers. 

To manage overtime, Ryder said next year’s new class of officers — who were hired at a lower pay scale — would bring down costs. He also said the department was hiring 12 additional police medics next month, which would help reduce overtime among existing medics.

While Nassau’s police department makes up the bulk of the county’s overall spending on overtime, it’s not the only department that goes over budget. In fact, Nassau and Suffolk counties went $74 million over budget on overtime, Newsday reported earlier this year.

Police medics and horse caregivers were among the department’s highest overtime earners in 2025, Newsday reported, with one medic making more than $180,000 in overtime last year in addition to their nearly $121,000 annual salary. One police hostler made almost $99,000 in overtime on top of their $81,000 base pay. 

Chris Boyle, a spokesman for Blakeman, previously told Newsday, "There are certain titles in Civil Service that require specific job skills, and therefore there are only a few people who can do the work. Our experience is that it is cheaper to pay overtime than to hire additional employees."