October 12, 2010

29 City of Racine employees made more than $10,000 in overtime in 2009

The 16 city employees who received the most overtime in 2009 all worked in the Racine Police Department, according to city data. 

One city dispatcher boosted her salary 60 percent in 2009 with overtime and double time pay. Sharlene Thomas, listed as a communications specialist I in 2009, earned $31,425.51 in overtime pay and $2,433.90 in double time pay for working more than 40 hours per week. Thomas' OT was the highest in the city last year. She ended up making $82,864.55. 

Investigator David Derks earned the second most OT with $25,546.28 (total salary was $97,169.94), followed by Communications Specialist I Joanne Larsen with $25,396.41 (total salary $75,442.77), Investigator Randy Kuzia with $23,758.41 (total salary was $97,348.22) and Sgt. Michael Payne with $23,748.29 (total salary $103,597.19).

The 16 city employees who received the most overtime in 2009 all worked in the Racine Police Department. Police overtime and double time totaled $790,162.06 last year, which amounted to 5.3 percent of the department's total wages of $14,814,452.42 for 2009. The city had budgeted $750,000 for police overtime in 2009.

By comparison, the Public Works Department paid out $239,044.76 in overtime in 2009, which amounted to 4.3 percent of the department's total wages of $5,515,321.05. The Fire Department paid out $169,930.71 in overtime, which was 1.7% of the department's total wages of $9,871,276.37.

A total of 29 employees earned more than $10,000 in overtime pay last year, according to city data.

Below is a spreadsheet listing all city employees who earned more than $10,000 in overtime in 2009.




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53 comments:

  1. Tim the Shrubber10/12/2010 10:38 AM

    It is probably cheaper to pay all this overtime than to pay the additional benefit costs/pension liabilities for additional workers.

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  2. So, what is the point of this article? Is it to bash those that work overtime or is it to prove a point that the city needs to hire more police officers, investigators and communication specialists? Looks to me like the PD is understaffed.

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  3. The thing to do would be just make many of these workers salaried.

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  4. I agree 10:49 crime in West 6th St is growing yet our alderman can not come to Neighborhood watch meetings and the last time he did over 6 months ago we were not allowed to talk to him on issues......
    Across from his home is more and more IMHO looking like an open air drug den. We need more police and less Park/Rec outsource Garbage pick up. Fire Brian O'Connell/PIO/The City Adim/Grant writer and one of Dr. Jones Deputies thats how you pay for more cops

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  5. Tim the Shrubber10/12/2010 10:59 AM

    "Looks to me like the PD is understaffed."

    Doesn't that described most Police Departments in towns bigger than Mayberry?


    "The thing to do would be just make many of these workers salaried."

    The public employee unions would never allow that.

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  6. I assume the "point" of the article is that "29 City of Racine employees made more than $10,000 in overtime in 2009." This lets the citizens of Racine know how some of their money is spent. It is information for us to use in governing ourselves. You can decide for yourself if you like or don't like how the monwy is spent. That is called democracy.

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  7. I wonder how much "change & hope" these wealthy Americans want.

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  8. "The thing to do would be just make many of these workers salaried." I agree. I'm sure there will be a push to privatize and therefore de-unionize a lot of these positions. Schwarzenegger wants to privatize the correctional officers in California. What has happend there is very twisted and scary. The prison guard union lobbied to increase the number of prisons to get more jobs for prison guards, then they lobbied to institute the "three strikes you're out" sentencing law. As a result, the prison population exploded, requiring the hiring of more prison guards, which is exactly what they wanted. The average prison guard makes $70k and over $100k with overtime. Sickening. Quite a paradox that liberal-leaning union members put themselves and their bloated paychecks first, and sacrifice minorities who are most likely to be imprisoned for life due to the union's own warped lobbying efforts.

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  9. Maybe if the police were not out delivering letters they could spend more time on thier real job. Or were they getting paid overtime to be postal workers?

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  10. As skilled as unions may be in taking taxpayer dollars, their greater influence is felt in the quality of the government services taxpayers receive in return. Public employee unions have reduced government efficiency and responsiveness. With poor prospects in the ultra-competitive private sector, government work is increasingly desirable for those with limited skills. At the opposite end of the spectrum, the wage compression imposed by unions and civil-service rules makes government employment less attractive to those whose abilities are in high demand. Consequently, there is a "brain drain" at the top end of the government work force, as many of the country's most talented people opt for jobs in the private sector where they can be richly rewarded for their skills. Thus, government employment caters more to the security-craver than the risk-taker. And because government employs more of the former and fewer of the latter, it is less flexible, less responsive, and less innovative. It is also more expensive: between 2000 and 2008, the price of state and local public services has increased by 41% nationally, compared with 27% for private services.

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  11. A communications specialist is a 911 operator. $83,000 plus benefits ($30,000 per year?) for a 911 operator is an outrage. To state this is not being anti-police or anti-911 operator. We all support our police, firefighters, and 911 operators, but for crying out loud, the widening gap between public and private pay is outrageous.

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  12. "Privatizing" public services in the past led to rampant political corruption in many of our cities as politicians built whole empires on private contracts and kickbacks while allowing public services to deteriorate. That's what fueled the creation of so many city-based political machines. When there's that much public money being handed out privately, you can bet on major league graft.

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  13. A 911 operator has a huge responsibility. I don't think $30,000 is outrageous. However, apparently, there are not enough operators which is why they need to work overtime. What happens when someone is on vacation and someone calls in sick? Someone apparently has to come in to work on their day off....which results in overtime.

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  14. This sure seems like bashing the police just to bash the police. If you want this kind of pay, maybe you should join the force and work your arse off.

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  15. It sometimes makes sense to pay a certain percentage in overtime rather than automatically add personnel, especially at the end of a recession, but this situation likely sends a signal that more personnel are needed in these critical areas. People tend to lose efficiency with longer and longer hours, and just when those hours cost the employer more. Balancing the work force to the work usually pays back in both productivity and budgets.

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  16. Ok, I guess nobody else in the private sector works their arse off. This is precisely the problem with public employees... they really think they are working harder than everyone else. It's amazing but it's a common thread that runs through any discussion about any public employee (school teachers, police, even our city stock room clerks!). Wake up - the rest of the world works overtime all the time and doesn't get paid extra for it.

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  17. They are monumentally inefficient. The last thing they need is to add more personnel.

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  18. Dispatchers don't make $83000 a year. It is time to start getting the facts straight and it is time for the unions to sue this piece of crap website for libel.

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  19. Tim the Shrubber10/12/2010 12:52 PM

    "Public employee unions have reduced government efficiency and responsiveness. With poor prospects in the ultra-competitive private sector, government work is increasingly desirable for those with limited skills."

    I think you are in danger of over-idealizing the private sector.

    While government absurdity inspired Catch-22, private sector corporate absurdity has given us Dilbert. Neither one looks real good if you look at the details.

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  20. 12:49 - did Sharlene Thomas, a dispatcher, earn $83k or not? Does the city data indicate this, or not? Let's hear the facts.

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  21. Dustin, this is the second time this information has been printed. Instead of trying to incite the masses, why don't you spend a day in the dispatch center or do a ride along with a patrol man and report on that. That would at least give you some street cred as a reporter.

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  22. I suggest everyone who is putting down the Police Dept & the dispatchers to listen to the live audio feed. It will give you a great appreciation to our officers and dispatchers. None of them get paid enough!

    http://www.radioreference.com/apps/audio/?ctid=3103

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  23. Yes, what is the point of this article? This information has already been posted.

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  24. Info was posted, but now I'm taking a closer look at the numbers. I really tried to stay neutral on this. I have immense respect for police officers and dispatchers. They not only put their bodies on the line every day, they take on the mental and emotional tolls that come with dealing with people at the lowest, most stressful times in their lives.

    I think Randy raises a good point about overtime. Fiscally, it may make sense, but how is it affecting the officers? Is working too long healthy for themselves and their families? Is it the best way to have a productive, efficient workforce? I really don't know, but it may be a question worth researching.

    Lastly, if anything, I think the article leans in favor of the department's judicious use of overtime. $790,000 in OT on a payroll of $14+ million seems reasonable, even thrifty, for a job that requires court visits, writing reports, counseling victims, training, etc.

    In a budget were the city is looking at at least a 5 percent increase in the tax levy (to offset the declining property values), every amount of spending needs to be reviewed. I'd certainly rather see OT reduced than positions go unfilled, especially in the PD.

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  25. A 5% Tax increase will end Dickert's chance of reelection. There a long list of City workers who can go and should go.

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  26. 1:14... what is impressive to you about the audio feed? That they are doing their job? Is their job more impressive to you than say an experienced hospital social worker with a Master's degree who works nonstop all day long running from patient to patient, constantly getting paged, and making $40,000/year with no overtime? This is not an indictment of our 911 dispatchers... this is an indictment of our unionized system that makes the pay so out of whack compared to the private sector. This overtime pay is baloney. There are several police dispatchers who earned overtime pay totalling over $102,000. Is overtime pay a premium one and one-half times regular pay, or is it more? Taxpayers should know how their money is being spent.

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  27. Tim the Shrubber10/12/2010 2:08 PM

    "There are several police dispatchers who earned overtime pay totalling over $102,000."

    Er, where?

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  28. Anonymous said...

    "Taxpayers should know how their money is being spent."
    10/12/2010 1:58 PM


    So NOW YOU KNOW anon 1:58

    Now shut the F up!!!

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  29. If Mr.Realtor Dickert would be half a mayor and focus on crime the PD wouldn't need all that overtime.

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  30. Why do so many City Workers get upset at the public knowing how much we pay for them? Might it be because many of them could be outsourced or done away with all together?

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  31. 4:19pm...Would you want everyone to know what you make? Your family, co-workers, neighbors, dentist...etc? If you don't care, post your name, where you work and you salary.

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  32. how do you focus on crime in Racine without being labelled a racist?

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  33. "It is just the 'perception' that my staff is overpaid"

    ~ RPD Chief Kurt Wahlen

    The truth is I am an idiot that is paying a non-degree dispatcher $83,000 of taxpayer's hard-earned money to mask my incompetence to effectively manage a police department.

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  34. When you have cops making $70k, $80k, even $90k a year I think that is excessive. I don't know about each of their specific performance, but the department as a whole is a joke. Surely they aren't putting in overtime on my block. I waited an hour and a half for one of them to come take a report for my broken window the other night.

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  35. Typically, as much as 5 or 6 percent on top of payroll for overtime would seem to be on the high side, maybe a reason to trigger a review of the need for new positions instead of asking employees to work unreasonable hours, but I'm talking about a typical organization, not an organization that needs to deliver emergency services. An emergency services outfit can't really postpone work until tomorrow's shift.

    I personally wouldn't begrudge a police officer or a 9-11 dispatcher their legally required OT (that's law, by the way, not a contract provision), but such jobs also are jobs that can burn folks out in a short time if there are too many hours and not enough down time. Supervisors should be aware of this and review staff needs accordingly.

    (Oh, and so should taxpayers who may one day rely on these folks for their very lives or the lives of loved ones.)

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  36. Braniac at 6:56. How does paying a dispatcher 83,000 of tax payer money show anything about how the Chief does his job?? And do you know for sure that dispatchers have no degrees? The overtime like someone earlier said is due to staff shortage in the dispatch area, much like the PD, I am sure has a limit on the number that can be hired (City/Economy fault). When a dispatcher calls in sick are we to just shut down the City Police/Fire services for the shift until the next shift arrives?

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  37. If you don't want a public salary, don't become a public employee.

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  38. This just kills me:

    "Anonymous (7:18) said...
    When you have cops making $70k, $80k, even $90k a year I think that is excessive. I don't know about each of their specific performance, but the department as a whole is a joke. Surely they aren't putting in overtime on my block. I waited an hour and a half for one of them to come take a report for my broken window the other night."

    Get real. In most jurisdictions - for many years now - police simply would not come out to take a report for a broken window because it simply costs too much and they've got too many other more important things to do, yet you complain because in your estimation, they were "late."

    Look, if we expect this level of service from our police, expect to pay for it. And, surely, don't complain of their supposed inefficiency in return.

    You have no idea how good you've got it with the relatively excellent response our police department offers in this town. In many, even most places, that kind of response for something as mundane as a broken would be considered a throwback to the "good old days."

    Don't get me wrong. I like it that our police department behaves in this manner ... but, please, don't complain about it. We're lucky to still have it.

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  39. ... that kind of response for something as mundane as a broken window ....

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  40. Randolph - you are probably one of the clowns on RPD that answers the phone. If my insurance company requires a police report (and I am overpaying my taxes), I think that I deserve to have them come in a reasonable time and take a report. Maybe if the police were out patrolling the streets you wouldn't have idiot kids running around breaking windows. I think they should release Adrial White so he can do your job for you. I would gladly pay him $190k a year to clean this city up.

    Maybe RPD will make it up to me by building a stupid COP house, installing a goofy camera, or parking that piece of s**t armored truck in front of my house to deter crime. Get real. The chief and top brass in the department have to be the biggest idiots around.

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  41. Anon, 9:17 ... Oh, most departments will make your phone call an M.O.R., or "matter of record," but it's getting few and far between that medium- or large-city departments will actually send a squad for a broken window.

    In another city of similar size, somebody fired a bullet into my house ... the police took my info over the phone and said I could bring the projectile down if I could dig it out of my front wall ... that's how busy that department was. Unless I saw someone do it or had any idea who was shooting at me, there really wasn't a lot they'd be able to do. A random(?) neighborhood shooting, with no injury, wasn't worth the time and money because they knew they'd probably never make a case against anybody.

    Believe me, the personal attention Racine police pay to citizens' complaints is quite remarkable. It's costly, yes, but we're lucky to have it.

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  42. ... Oh, and I was the local newspaper editor in that town where the cops blew me off, and I assume they knew it, too. Not to "pull rank" or anything, but I just figured if they were going to pay attention to a case, it'd be mine. But, no, they reserved their capacity for what they considered to be worthwhile things in the general scheme. It didn't matter who called ... they allocated their resources for the most important things. OK, I could accept that.

    Here in Racine, I've found that the cops generally treat people decent; they eventually show up when you call them, or they explain why they can't.

    That's good.

    Moreover, Racine cops don't seem to beat the crap out of people for no reason, nor do they shoot people without cause.

    Also good.

    I don't know who's doing the training, but they seem to have it about right: Respect citizens, come when they're called, don't let things get out of hand.

    My hat's off to 'em. I've lived in worse places, where the cops just didn't "get it."

    Here, they do.

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  43. I've had my difference with them, to be sure, but in the main, they do well.

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  44. Obviously Randolph, Your new to the City Of Racine.

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  45. No, Randlolph is just the only one on this blog with any intelligence!

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  46. I have no comment on how much our police make. I am a "law and order" type of guy. I live in a "bad" part of town. I put a very high priority on safety services provided by our city. My experiences with Racine firefighters and EMTs has been wonderful. Unfortunately, the majority of my experiences with RPD have been negative, and that is from the perspective of someone who used to report the crime in his neighborhood and tried to fight against it. Today there are two elements I avoid at all costs in my neighborhood: the thugs and the police. You never know what either one is going to do.

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  47. Orbs your right on.... Anyone who has lived in this city cannot dispute the fact we have had child molestors, thiefs, liars and brutality on the RPD. I support the police but we can't deny the facts.

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  48. Orbs and Anon, 2:54,

    I won't dispute your experiences, but in more than a decade here, I've seen far fewer instances of police abuse and/or over-reaction than I've seen in other towns I've lived in all around the country.

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  49. I'm not talking about police brutality. I'm talking about discouraging the reporting of crime as opposed to fighting crime. People in my building have learned to live with crime rather than report it. Reporting it does no good and often as not results in negative consequences for the reporter. If you discourage people from reporting it, then it doesn't exist. Hence, Wahlen's "the perception of crime."

    Go down to RPD and get the "we are a reactive force" lecture. The public is forced to accept more and more crime as "normal." I see and hear things today on the streets that I would've expected only to witness in the military. If you complain about it, you will be made out to be the bad guy. If you really complain about it, you will be shut up, usually with a $300 disorderly conduct ticket.

    In the past I have turned over evidence to the RPD. I got my ex-neighbor busted for beating a child - AFTER the police told me there was nothing they could do about it. I used to try and try to make a difference in my neighborhood. No more - I got the message. The screams of that 2-year-old were only my "perceptions." I stay as far away from the police as possible now.

    And Randolph, consider where you live. You're on the edge of North Bay, one of the most exclusive neighborhoods in Racine. Of course you don't see much crime. I see it every single day. Hell, there's a crack house across the street from my living room window. All hell going on there day and night, yet somehow nobody can do anything about it. Laugh Out Loud at honest people trying to live honest lives in this sewer....

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  50. City hall is full of liars who have no honor or loyality just self preservation.

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  51. Orbs,

    Like I said, I'm not disputing your experience, just making some observations of my own.

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  52. Yeah, and I already regret posting about it. Obviously sour grapes. If more police means an actual reduction in crime, then I'm for more police, and necessarily the added cost. Of course, I live in a higher crime area. If someone's neighborhood is pretty nice, they may not see the need for the added cost.

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  53. Orbs,

    I do, frankly. We're all in this together, no matter where we live. The health and safety of the community should and does mean the health and safety of the entire community.

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