Sheriff wants to pay deputies overtime

HOT SPRINGS — The Garland County Sheriff’s office proposes to improve scheduling flexibility by paying public safety personnel overtime wages instead of compensating them with paid time off.

Sheriff Mike McCormick said comp-time accruals have become too unwieldy for the department’s limited resources, making it difficult to meet scheduling requirements that include having no fewer than four deputies on patrol during every 12-hour shift.

Other paid time off, such as vacation and holiday time, that the sheriff’s office has to account for makes managing large comp-time balances even more burdensome, he said.

“The overtime pay would be the responsibility of the supervisor of each shift to be kept to a minimum,” McCormick said in a letter the Garland County Quorum Court, and all overtime would require the approval of the sheriff. “Once this becomes a regular practice, the supervisors will be able to monitor this, and I feel confident that overtime pay will be a null issue,” McCormick said.

The proposal will be considered later this spring, the county said.

Overtime would be paid after a deputy’s comp time exceeds 40 hours. Per an ordinance adopted last year, the sheriff’s office uses a 14-day, 86-hour pay period to calculate overtime for public safety personnel. Hours worked in excess of that threshold are considered overtime.

The office previously used a 28-day, 171-hour period for calculating overtime despite being on a two-week pay cycle.