In California, law enforcement agencies charging hefty overtime pay in the communities they serve is nothing new. But one governing body is now taking proactive steps to combat the phenomenon.
In Santa Barbara County, the Board of Supervisors voted unanimously last week to increase oversight of the sheriff’s budget, including mandating monthly reporting on overtime allocations.
Not only does this move seem long overdue, but it is also necessary as the county attempts to remain fiscally solvent. The Sheriff’s Office paid $21 million in overtime last year, with the top earner receiving $170,000 in overtime pay on top of a base salary of $103,000, according to a recent Santa Barbara Independent report on the county’s audit.
At last week’s meeting, members of the Sheriff’s Office attempted to tally the overtime numbers that have continued to surge this year. Angry community members testified that they were tired of the continued spending.
Although the Sheriff’s Office’s intent is to remain consistent with its allocated budget, it is the Sheriff’s Office’s own officers who submit reports regarding overtime excess.
In some cases, they’re trying to justify how they continue to go over budget. The Independent reported that a recent audit showed that employees were taking advantage of union-negotiated contracts to maximize the number of overtime-eligible hours by substituting paid sick or vacation time for regular work hours and then making up the rest of the work week with time billable at half-time overtime rates.
“This is a very common practice,” Santa Barbara Police Chief Bill Brown told supervisors about the situation, then tried to give them an example of how it could happen: “Let’s say we have a custody deputy on the job and he has the flu,” he explained. “He was bedridden for a week with the flu. So, the first week of the pay period, he stayed home and used 40 hours of sick leave. He got better and came back to work the next week and would work the next 40 hours. If he worked those 40 hours and only worked one or two shifts, that wasn’t enough time off work and he kept working, say, a four-hour shift, and he would accrue eight more hours, which would be considered overtime because that’s also allowed.”
FILE: The Santa Ynez Mountains as seen from downtown Santa Barbara, California (Alexander Spatari/Getty Images)
But Brown’s assumptions simply didn’t resonate with Supervisor Laura Capps, especially not justifying the office’s overspending so far in the current budget cycle. The county estimates the Sheriff’s Office is already about $6 million over budget and expects to eventually be about $9 million over budget by the end of the fiscal year in June.
The matter is urgent because of news in late December that the county faces a $66 million budget shortfall over the next five years.
“Okay, but that sounds like a pretty unusual situation,” Capps said in response to a hypothetical explanation for how overtime is rampant. She was curious how those circumstances could result in a $6 million excess in overtime pay so far this year.
“If someone is making close to three times base salary, and I know three times base salary is an extreme example, but a lot of people, a lot of the people who work for you, Chief Brown, are getting paid more overtime than their base salary, does that raise a bunch of signals in your budget system, and that, to me, is not a good system,” she continued. “So, something’s not right.”
Brown responded that overtime can be viewed through many lenses, including that some deputies simply want to make more money. “The reality is that employees are willing to work overtime and step up when they need it most,” Brown said. “Oftentimes, it’s because they have a goal in mind, a financial goal they want to achieve or whatever.”
Brown also acknowledged that overtime is a serious problem, but not just in his office. “This is common across government, across the state and across the country,” he said.
“There are always people who are willing to work overtime, and by itself, I don’t think we should demonize them for that,” he added.
FILE: Stearns Pier faces State Street and downtown in this aerial photo taken on February 23, 2018, in Santa Barbara, California. (George Ross/Getty Images)
Santa Barbara County residents who spoke at the meeting also favored auditing and limiting overtime pay for the Sheriff’s Office. “Today we have an opportunity to rethink how to best use our tax dollars to benefit the people who actually pay them,” said a spokesperson named Ana Garcia. “The Sheriff’s Department under Bill Brown continues to ask for more money while under investigation for chronic budget overruns and fraudulent overtime claims.”
County Supervisor Bob Nelson said he supports a closer investigation into the circumstances surrounding Sheriff’s overtime, but also encouraged the idea that all county departments may be subject to similar treatment. “Many of my agricultural constituents rely heavily on the work of the Sheriff’s Department and our patrols to protect their employees and resources,” he said. “I know this is an important piece of the public safety puzzle and I don’t want to jeopardize that.”
With the exception of Supervisor Steve Lavagnino, who missed the meeting early due to a family matter, county supervisors unanimously decided to support monthly audits and directed staff to report back to them on the possible hiring of an independent inspector general to oversee overtime allocations for the Sheriff’s Office and other departments. “Having an inspector general is about accountability, transparency and fiscal responsibility,” Supervisor Joan Hartman said of potentially seeking independent oversight. “It ensures the Sheriff’s operations are effective and financially sustainable, protecting the county’s resources now and into the future.”
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This article was originally published on Wealthy California county goes after sheriff overtime pay.
