Law enforcement agencies running up massive overtime tabs in the communities they serve is far from a new story in California. But one governing body is now taking aggressive measures to combat it.

In Santa Barbara County, the Board of Supervisors voted unanimously last week to add increased oversight to the sheriff’s budget, including mandatory monthly reporting on overtime allocations. 

The step is not only seemingly overdue but also necessary for the county to attempt to remain fiscally solvent. The sheriff’s office paid out $21 million in overtime last year — with the top overtime earner making $170,000 in overtime on top of a base salary that was $103,000, according a recent report in the Santa Barbara Independent on the county’s audit.

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During last week’s meeting, members of the sheriff’s office attempted to account for the overtime numbers, which have continued to surge this year. Outraged members of the community, one after the next, testified that they are fed up with the ongoing spending. 

Good intentions to keep the sheriff’s office in line with the budget it’s allocated notwithstanding, it was officials from the sheriff’s office itself who presented their reporting on the overtime overages. 

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In some cases, they attempted to justify how they continue to run over budget. A recent audit “suggests that employees are taking advantage of the contract their unions negotiated to maximize the number of hours qualifying for overtime, by substituting paid sick or vacation leave hours for regular work hours and then making up the rest of their work week with hours that can be billed at time-and-a-half overtime rates,”........

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