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

The Santa Barbara County 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,

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,” the Independent reported.

“It’s a very common practice,” Santa Barbara Sheriff Bill Brown told supervisors. 

Brown also acknowledged the overtime problem is rampant but not with just his office. “This is common throughout government — throughout the state and throughout the country,” he said. 

https://www.sfgate.com/centralcoast/article/santa-barbara-sheriff-overtime-21358937.php