Questions About Sheriff’s Overtime
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* Re “Overtime Rising in Fire, Sheriffs Departments,” Dec. 24.
Sheriff Bob Brooks states that the overtime amount of $11.7 million is the “cost of policing a large county.” The size of our county is reflected in the size of the budget and should be irrelevant when scrutinizing overtime abuses. And yes, I do mean abuses.
Does anyone in the private sector get hired for a $50,000-a-year job but manage to bring home $120,000 a year? Sign me up.
Are these positions based on a salary, an hourly wage or both? According to Webster’s dictionary, a salary is “fixed compensation paid regularly for services.” Well, something sure seems fixed.
With all due respect to the Sheriff’s Department, wouldn’t the public be better served by spending $11.7 million on schools, teachers, libraries and textbooks instead of paying $117,000 a year for a junior deputy?
If this were a business, investors would have demanded an explanation long ago. This is my money and I want a better answer.
ED D. ROBERTS
Ventura
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