Police officers, corrections officers and paramedics top the list of Louisville Metro Government employees who've earned the most overtime pay so far this year — with the city on track to meet or exceed the amount of such payouts from previous years.
From January through July, the city has disbursed nearly $30 million in overtime pay to its employees, according to publicly available data.
In 2023, the total overtime payout was over $50 million. In 2022, it was just over $42 million, followed by $38 million in 2021.
Related: How much do Louisville Metro employees make? Search our database
The increase in overtime payments come as the city seeks to fill employee shortages, with a gap of 200 police officers and 78 EMTs. In his most recent budget, Mayor Craig Greenberg even bumped city worker pay in an attempt to become a more competitive employer.
"We are thankful for the nearly 2,000 men and women who work as first responders or emergency officials within Metro Government," said Greenberg press secretary Kevin Trager, also noting the administration is taking "significant action" to make sure there is staff to fill public safety positions.
LMDC spokesperson Maj. Jason Logsdon said he is hopeful new contracts passed by the city will lessen the department's staffing issues.
"Due to the nature of providing around-the-clock continuous jail security and care of in-custody individuals, LMDC has a responsibility to always ensure adequate staffing," Logsdon said. "LMDC, like many employers has seen staffing shortages in the last few years."
Some current employees — like Ronald Fey, a police sergeant — have made more money in 2024 from overtime pay than from their regular salaries. If Fey continues at this amount of work, he is positioned to make at least double — or even triple — his $102,000 salary.
"Although staffing is down, the workload required to be carried by LMPD has not diminished," said LMPD spokesperson John Bradley. "This necessarily requires the department to do more, with less."
Nearly all of the top 300 employees making the most in overtime pay in 2024 belong to a public safety field — whether a member of Louisville Fire, Emergency Management Services, the Louisville Metro Police Department, the Louisville Metro Department of Corrections or another organization.
Here is a list of the top 10:
- LMPD Sgt. Fey has made over $85,000 in overtime since the start of 2024.
- LMPD Sgt. Todd Jenkins has made over $76,000 in overtime.
- Corrections officer Royce Standard has made over $67,000 in overtime.
- Police officer Eric Ernst has more than doubled his year-to-date salary, making more than $63,000 in overtime.
- Police officer Youssef Mattiche has also made approximately $63,000 in overtime.
- Corrections officer Richardson Stimphil has made approximately $62,000 in overtime.
- Police officer Paul Fenwick has made nearly $61,000 in overtime.
- Police officers Auguste Ahebee and Michael Burns have each made a little over $53,000 in overtime pay.
Over 300 other public safety employees have made $20,000 or more in overtime pay in 2024. More than four thousand city employees have made some kind of overtime pay.
Source: Pay information was obtained through the Louisville Metro Open Data portal . 2024 is current as of July 29, 2024.
Reach reporter Eleanor McCrary at EMcCrary@courier-journal.com or at @ellie_mccrary on X, formerly known as Twitter.
This article originally appeared on Louisville Courier Journal: Who dominates city overtime pay? Louisville public safety workers top list
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