The Devil is in the Details

By Steve Poftak
May 2nd, 2008

For those of you waiting for massive savings from recently passed legislation on police details, be prepared for a long wait.

The recent transportation bond bill calls for EOT write regulations defining when and where police details or flagmen shall be used. The key points from the hearing:

- Police details account for 4% of project costs: Undersecretary Jeff Mullan said that MHD spent $20 million last year on police details against $500 million in construction spending. He also noted that “a lot projects come in overbudget because of police details”.

- Prevailing wage is going to prevail. Like it or not, EOT isn’t going to end prevailing wage rules through regulation. And prevailing wage for flaggers and signalers is $37.50/hour, comparable to police detail costs. However, I’m told that this wage has never really been actively bargained, since our state never had flaggers and it was viewed as a cheap giveaway.

- Work rules matter. Undersecretary Mullan said that work rules are also expected to be part of the discussion. I read this to mean that certain practices (like minimum 4 hour shifts) will be addressed.

Given the police union firepower in the room, this promises to be a very interesting series of hearins, with a final reg promised by July 16. Stay tuned.