Jan 10, 2007 6:03 pm US/Central
Dallas Co. Commissioners Want Answers On Overtime
by Sarah Dodd
DALLAS (CBS 11 News) ―
CBS 11 News has learned the Dallas County commissioners are asking the sheriff for answers about what some are calling "runaway" overtime.
The department is already almost $10 million over budget for overtime.
The commissioners are demanding answers from Sheriff Lupe Valdez by next week. They want to know if she has a policy on policing overtime, and if so, what it is.
They're concerned partly because some employees are making more than their annual salary- just in overtime.
Problems with overcrowding at the jail and a short staff are nothing new in Dallas County. But a recent auditor's report shows the costs of overtime have reached a new high.
"We've got runaway overtime," said Commissioner John Wiley Price, "and we've got to get it under control."
There are more than 1,000 employees working for Valdez, and about 400 of them collected more than $10,000 last year in overtime pay.
Nine of them earned more than $40,000 dollars just in overtime.
Price said, "We know there are people who make overtime that's more than their base pay."
We examined the top overtime earners and their annual salaries ranged from $41,000 to $49,000. But they were also bringing home between $38,000 and $42,000 in overtime.
The overtime was a huge point of contention at this week's commissioner's court meeting, but the focus was on the jail. A closer look at the audit finds that Valdez has employees who are collecting substantial overtime in almost every department, including warrant executions and patrol. At the same time, her department is down by about 97 employees.
We tried several times today to contact Sheriff Valdez, but she did not return our calls.
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