Time out on O.T.

IT'S BAD ENOUGH to learn that more than 600 city workers doubled their salaries through overtime last year, and thousands more were able to enhance their salaries by at least $20,000, as reported this week in the

Inquirer.

That brings the total tab for worker overtime to $201 million.

Overtime is not inherently bad; in fact, it can save the city money, since paying overtime is less expensive than hiring more people.

That's the conventional wisdom, anyway; we think it's time to verify that. Pensions, after all, are based on salaries received, and staggering overtime costs can be a hidden driver of pension costs. And our pension costs put the city in a deep hole that may be impossible to climb out of.

It's also hard not to be galled at the prospect that while many people are losing their jobs, some city workers - including a commissioner who oversees voter registration - are doubling their income.

But it gets worse: Four police officers removed from the street pending investigations into their methods as narcotics officers have together collected more than $15,000 in the few months since being taken off the streets in court-related overtime. They get overtime for showing up in court to testify in cases that are delayed or withdrawn - in part because of questions about their investigations. What crazy planet do we live on, anyway?

The story, in yesterday's Daily News, underscores a larger issue: The city pays out $250 million in overtime related solely to inefficiencies of the court system. And we have no choice but to pay it.

Such criminal inefficiencies in the courts drove some of the debate during the primary for district attorney. This must be a priority of the next D.A., but the mayor and the police should also be pushing to change this situation.