Nearly 1,000 MTA workers raked in more overtime than they did from their base salaries last year, records showed \u2014 as the agency has already overspent this year\u2019s OT budget by a whopping $176 million.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The cash-hungry Metropolitan Transportation Authority spent nearly $764 million on overtime in the first six months of the year, putting it on pace to break the overtime record of nearly $1.5 billion set in 2025<\/a>, according to finance documents presented at a committee meeting Monday.<\/p>\n Overtime became such a burden on the transit agency\u2019s spending that it climbed to about 23% of MTA salaries through the first three months of the year.<\/p>\n MTA Bridges & Tunnels Sgt. Orlando Caholo, right, at a June 2021 conference. He has been a top overtime earner. Marc A. Hermann<\/p>\n MTA officials blamed the runaway spending on unfilled jobs and the need for staffing backup, the documents showed.<\/p>\n \u201cOvertime can sometimes be more cost-effective than having a higher headcount \u2013 for example for responding to extreme weather events \u2013 but that\u2019s not always the case,\u201d a spokesperson for the MTA said.<\/p>\n MTA subsidiary New York City Transit saved $97 million on salaries because of unfilled jobs \u2014 then spent $141 million more than planned on overtime.<\/p>\n The transit agency had 2,868 unfilled jobs by the end of June. Its total operating budget for 2026 is $21.3 billion.<\/p>\n \u201cThat\u2019s mismanagement to the highest degree,\u201d Zilvinas Silenas, president of Empire Public Policy Center, told The Post. \u201cI don\u2019t believe in a city of 10 million people they can\u2019t find enough people to work at the MTA.\u201d<\/p>\n The MTA is a government-created public benefit corporation supported by taxes and its own revenue streams.<\/p>\n MTA head Janno Lieber pulled in nearly $470,000 last year \u2014 but several employees out-earned him. Matt Roberts\/Shutterstock<\/p>\n Spending records show Luis Miranda, a Bridges and Tunnels lieutenant, collected $89,560 in overtime in the first three months of 2026 \u2014 more than any other MTA employee \u2014 on top of $36,193 he earned in regular pay.<\/p>\n Miranda\u2019s pay reached $128,644 by March 31, putting him on pace to beat his 2025 earnings of $382,583, when he raked in $219,064 in overtime.<\/p>\n John Anastasatos, a Bridges and Tunnels sergeant, earned $78,520 in overtime over the same three months, on top of $29,107 in regular pay.<\/p>\n Anastasatos collected $304,167 in overtime last year, nearly two and a half times his $123,102 salary, bringing his total earnings to $438,586.<\/p>\n Miranda and Anastasatos work in the same Bridges and Tunnels unit.<\/p>\n At Bridges and Tunnels, the division that runs the city\u2019s tolled bridges and tunnels, overtime has run 50% of regular pay in the first three months of the year, the highest rate of any MTA division, according to state payroll records.<\/p>\n Neither Miranda nor Anastasatos responded to inquiries from The Post.<\/p>\n Stilwell Manriquez, a New York City Transit senior stationary engineer, is already running ahead of his earnings from last year.<\/p>\n Manriquez collected $79,695 in overtime in the first three months of 2026. <\/p>\n Last year his overtime reached $276,898, part of a $549,122 total that made him the highest-paid employee at the MTA \u2014 ahead of the agency\u2019s chairman.<\/p>\n Six employees out-earned Lieber last year, even though Lieber, as the chairman of the MTA, took in nearly $470,000.<\/p>\n The MTA spent nearly $764 million on overtime in the first six months of this year, putting it on track to break the overtime record set in 2025. stefano Giovannini for NY Post<\/p>\n Manriquez is on track for the second year in a row to earn more than Lieber and Gov. Kathy Hochul, who is paid $250,000 a year.<\/p>\n Manriquez did not respond to an inquiry from The Post. <\/p>\n The MTA has blamed high overtime spending on work rules that automatically trigger overtime pay. Robert Mecea<\/p>\n \u201cManaging overtime is a priority, which means working to change work rules that incentivize overtime; it also means better and more aggressive supervision,\u201d the MTA spokesperson said.<\/p>\n Silenas said union work rules can be burdensome and sometimes have \u201cno logic.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThey have all sorts of crazy rules like if you begin work at one depot and end work at a different depot you get paid double,\u201d Silenas said. <\/p>\n The MTA\u2019s own financial statements listed a smaller overtime total in 2025 than what state payroll records showed.<\/p>\n The MTA listed its overtime spending at $1.15 billion. This could be because the agency counts overtime charged to construction projects as a separate capital cost rather than an operating expense.<\/p>\n A spokesperson did not respond to an inquiry about the discrepancy from The Post.<\/p>\n The revelation comes as the MTA continues to contend with rampant overtime abuse.<\/p>\n Three dozen Long Island Railroad employees were caught by the MTA Inspector General last year using fake swipe cards<\/a> to clock in and out even when they were not actually working, allowing them to collect overtime pay at levels far above their coworkers \u2014 in some cases, up to three times as much.<\/p>\n Three Staten Island bus maintainers repeatedly left the depot during overtime shifts in 2023, sometimes for hours at a time, while still claiming overtime pay, according to a report from the MTA Inspector General.<\/p>\n Inspectors said surveillance showed the workers were not at work while clocking thousands of dollars in overtime.<\/p>\n Despite those high-profile breaches, Janno Lieber said at an Albany budget hearing in February that he was \u201cproud\u201d<\/a> of the MTA\u2019s high overtime because it showed employees were working nights and weekends.<\/p>\n