New York City has totaled $154.1 million in overtime costs related to Hurricane Sandy from Oct. 29 to Dec. 24, the Independent Budget Office reported.
The police and sanitation departments — $70.9 million and $53.6 million, respectively — accounted for about 80% of the total, according to the watchdog agency, which cited New York City payroll data.
Other department overtime costs came from fire ($8.6 million), parks ($4.7 million), transportation ($3.1 million), environmental protection ($2.5 million), health and mental hygiene ($2.1 million), corrections ($1.9 million), and "all others" ($6.7 million).
The figures do not include New York City Housing Authority, Metropolitan Transportation Authority or Health and Hospitals Corp. figures, according to the IBO, which factored holiday pay into its overtime tabulation.
Two weeks ago, IBO called the lingering costs of Sandy "a huge challenge" for the city. The city has yet to finalize the costs of post-Sandy rebuilding, including hardening the city's infrastructure to lessen the effects of future storms.
Variables related to Sandy, the IBO reported, include property-tax forecasts, as businesses and residents in flood-prone parts of the city consider whether to rebuild.
Moody's Investors Service rates the city's general obligation bonds Aa2, while Fitch Ratings and Standard & Poor's each assign AA ratings.
Meanwhile, President Obama on Sunday signed a bill that increases the National Flood Insurance program's borrowing authority by $9.7 billion. It marks the first installment of supplemental Sandy aid. The second phase, another $51 billion, is scheduled for a vote next week.
