St. Paul police overtime spending was down about half a million dollars in the first half of the year compared to the same period last year, the assistant chief told the city council Wednesday.

There was back-and-forth between the city council and the mayor’s office last year about heavy police overtime spending, and the city council requested a report from the police department about it.

Though the police department has an authorized strength of 619 officers, they haven’t been able to keep their ranks fully staffed. There are 562 officers on the payroll, with 539 available to work, according to the police department.

Most of the $1.4 million in police overtime spending from the general fund for the first six months of this year has been to cover staff shortages — $579,000.

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