The Pittsburgh Bureau of Police yesterday finalized its new method of handling side jobs for moonlighting officers who provide security at banks, bars, ballparks and other businesses.

The bureau will use a computerized system to keep track of all off-duty details and charge employers $3.85 per hour per officer, a policy that went into effect on Monday for the Pirates' home opener.

Previously, if a business wanted to rent off-duty city police, it would contact one of several officers who ran their own security networks. That person would line up officers for the job in return for a cut of the pay.

But supervisors often didn't know which officers were working details, where or when.

The new system centralizes the process and sets up specific steps employers must take to request officers.

"Our goal is to make sure we know where and when our officers are working," said Assistant Chief Regina McDonald.

She said the surcharge, which was opposed by the police union and many businesses who consider it unfair, is designed to recoup costs to the bureau such as workers' compensation, civil liability and wear-and-tear on uniforms and equipment.

Businesses have to sign an application agreement and schedule officers either directly through the bureau's Office of Special Events or through individual officers who act as "designated schedulers."

Chief McDonald said 495 businesses have applied.

The special events office will handle scheduling and payroll for 345 of them. The other 150 will continue to schedule their details through individual officers.

Ideally, the bureau would like to have all details arranged through the special events office for maximum efficiency, but an arbitration award a year ago allowed the union to keep using schedulers.

In the past, some of the schedulers had been retired officers in the past, but now they have to be active, full-time officers. They also must be approved by Chief Nate Harper and submit a monthly report of details and hours so the bureau knows where, when and how long everyone is working.

Those employers who want specific officers to work for them have to submit a written request 14 days in advance.

Employers will also have to pay the $3.85 surcharge for each hour that the schedulers spend in setting up the details.

Businesses set their own pay rates, but those that require a special events permit or a permit to re-route traffic must pay time-and-a-half, or $38.54 an hour.

Chief McDonald said the $3.85 surcharge will be re-evaluated in a year to see if it should be raised or lowered. In October, she said, officers worked 7,760 off-duty hours; had the fee been collected then, the city would have made about $29,000 that month.

Chief McDonald said officers will not be allowed to work more than 30 hours of off-duty details a week.

"We have to keep in mind that their primary job is that of law enforcement for the city of Pittsburgh, which is a 40-hour week," she said.