Election 2026 | Question of the Week 11, District 6 | 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 6 Cape Coral City Council seat:
Question of the Week: Should employee overtime be addressed? Why or why not?
• Liza King
Yes. Employee overtime should be closely monitored and addressed. Taxpayers deserve to know that every dollar they provide to the city is being managed responsibly.
There are legitimate times when overtime is necessary, particularly in public safety, emergencies and essential services. But when overtime becomes routine, we need to ask why. Is it a staffing issue, scheduling issue or something that can be managed more efficiently?
My responsibility is to protect taxpayer dollars while making sure our city has the resources necessary to provide the services our residents expect.
Fiscal responsibility means asking the tough questions, demanding accountability, and making sure we are getting the best value for every taxpayer dollar spent.
• Annette Warren
Yes, employee overtime should be addressed, but not by simply eliminating it. Some overtime is unavoidable, particularly during emergencies and when maintaining essential services. However, when overtime is consistently high, we need to look at why. That means reviewing staffing levels, scheduling practices and whether alternative schedules could reduce overtime while maintaining proper coverage. Sometimes the issue isn’t the number of employees, but how those employees are scheduled. We should regularly evaluate overtime and make sure we are using our workforce efficiently, providing quality services and being responsible with taxpayer dollars.