Election 2026 | Question of the Week 11, District 1 | Should employee overtime be addressed? Why or why not?
Each week through the General Election, The Breeze will ask the candidates for Cape Coral City Council an issue-related question. In the interest of fairness, each candidate is limited to the same amount of space, about 100 words, for their response.
Cape Coral City Council races are non-partisan races. Council members qualify in their respective districts but are elected at-large. This means all registered city voters may cast a ballot in each race regardless of where they live and the party to which they are affiliated, if any. This year’s General Election, on Nov. 3, features four Cape Coral City Council races: Mayor and the seats for District 1, 4 and 6.
The candidates below are running for the District 1 Cape Coral City Council seat:
Question of the Week: Should employee overtime be addressed? Why or why not?
• David Newton
Yes. Employee overtime should be addressed because every tax dollar the city spends belongs to the taxpayers, and City Council has the responsibility to ensure those dollars are used wisely. Overtime is sometimes necessary for public safety, emergencies, and essential services, but excessive overtime should not simply be accepted as the cost of doing business.
I support regular, department-by-department reviews of overtime to determine what is driving these costs and identify more cost-effective solutions. When overtime consistently exceeds reasonable levels, the city should identify the cause and take corrective action.
• Tom Shadrach
Overtime needs to be addressed if it is excessive in a department and it is used because staffing increases are not approved. This is a management issue and would be a discussion topic during the budget process if increasing staffing would solve the issue. Overtime becomes problematic if it gets to be routine. Overtime for a short-term need or emergency is why it is practical.