Public safety personnel worked millions of dollars in overtime for the city of Vancouver and Clark County last year, and men earned most of it.
Out of the top-50 overtime earners in the city in 2015, one was a woman. In the county, four were women.
Fire Battalion Chief Kevin Griffee took home the most overtime in the city, earning $88,311 last year in addition to his base salary of $129,528. Police Sgt. Deborah Libbey’s $31,004 in overtime was the highest of any woman in the city. Her base salary was $93,516.
The county’s top overtime earner was sheriff’s Sgt. Anthony Barnes, who earned $64,483 in overtime above his $87,610 base salary. Sheriff’s Sgt. Linda Hayes worked the most overtime of the women, earning $34,210 in addition to her base salary of $98,968.
The gender imbalance in overtime earnings, Vancouver Police Department Lt. Kathy McNicholas said, comes down to officers’ career interests. Some divisions work more overtime than others, said McNicholas, whose $28,468 in overtime ranked her 57th on the city’s list.
McNicholas, whose base salary was $117,912, assisted police spokeswoman Kim Kapp last year as a public information officer. She also filled in for special operations (SWAT, K-9, bomb team negotiators), was the crisis intervention team coordinator, served on advisory boards and ran a Neighborhood Response Team unit, which involves search warrants and high-profile cases. All of those duties involve overtime, she said.