Johnson County Sheriff’s Master Deputy Jeffrey Lang tops the Kansas public employee overtime earners list at just under $76,000 for 2015.
That overtime alone far exceeds the average Kansas household income of under $53,000.
Lang’s total income for 2015 was just under $158,000. The Kansas Policy Institute compiled the overtime list.
"This is taxpayer money that we’re talking about, so anytime you’re looking at any kind of expenditure, I think the taxpayer should be concerned about how their money is being spent,” said Kansas Policy Institute financial analyst Patrick Parkes.
Lang is not alone.
Nine of the top 20 public overtime earners statewide work for the Johnson County Sheriff’s Office.
"When you run a 24/7 operation, there are posts that have to be filled,” said Johnson County Sheriff’s Office chief financial officer Kent Brown.
Brown said overtime increased in 2008 when the sheriff’s office began a hiring freeze due to the recession.
About 120 positions were eliminated over three years.
"We’ve had to recover from that, and we do have over 40 deputy positions open right now that we’re trying to fill,” said Brown.
"We have to use those funds"
The Johnson County Sheriff’s Office currently has about 630 employees. Last year, the Board of County Commissioners authorized 42 new positions.
Four of the other top 20 Kansas public employee overtime earners work in Wyandotte County public safety, including Sheriff’s Deputy David Ornelas--at more than $56,000 in 2015.
"We wish we could allocate those funds elsewhere, but unfortunately, we have to use those funds for overtime because we are shorthanded,” said Wyandotte County Sheriff’s Office spokeswoman Lieutenant Kelly Bailiff.
Both the Johnson and Wyandotte County Sheriff’s Offices assign overtime on a volunteer basis, with some forced overtime to cover every shift.
While that overtime is being paid, property taxes collected since 1997 have increased 188 percent in Johnson County. That's well ahead of inflation, population growth and the property tax or mill rate.
The same is true in Wyandotte County, whereproperty taxes collected since 1997 have increased 151 percent.
"You have to look at competing priorities,” said Parkes. “You have to look at where we could be spending it and what’s the best use of that money."
The retirement boost
High overtime earnings can have another potential impact.
Under the Kansas Public Employees Retirement System, or KPERS, lifetime retirement income is based on an average of the final three earning years.
"When deputies are getting close to retirement, that may be one incentive for them to want to work more hours,” Brown said.
"We definitely do see that happening as people near retirement,” said Parkes.
The 41 Action News Investigators asked to speak with top public overtime earners in Johnson and Wyandotte counties. Those requests were denied.
All of the top 20 earners on the Kansas public overtime list work in public safety. Seven of them work for the Sedgwick County Sheriff’s Office in Wichita.
Brown points out Johnson and Sedgwick counties have the two largest sheriff’s offices in the state.
Looking deeper into that list, the top 40 earners are all men. Number 41 was the first woman on the list.
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Andy Alcock can be reached at anderson.alcock@kshb.com.
