MCLEAN DAY!
Find a full schedule plus map and stories about the McLean Day celebration, to be held May 20 at Lewinsville Park.
6 14 15 27 30 34 34
Commentary Public-Safety Schools Sports Classified Crossword Local History
Tuesday Tours 9am Every Tuesday Walk-Ins Welcome
703-759-5100
www.FairfaxChristianSchool.com
Sun Gazette VOLUME 38
GREAT FALLS McLEAN OAKTON TYSONS VIENNA
NO. 35
MAY 11-17, 2017
Overtime Elevates Some Rank-and-File Past $200,000 Mark
PROTECTING THE NET
Fairfax County’s Police, Fire Personnel Can Exceed Their Chiefs in Annual Pay BRIAN TROMPETER Staff Writer
Langley goalie J.T. Gorman defends a shot taken by Washington-Lee’s Charlie Edwards in last week’s Liberty Conference Tournament first-round lacrosse playoff game. Matthew Loftus, No. 13, and Mark Fredrick, No. 16, defend on the play. Langley won 12-6. Find full coverage in Sports. PHOTO BY DEB KOLT
*Any job over $3000. Good only when presented at time of free inspection. Not to be combined with any other offer.
PAID
$500 Off!*
Free Inspection & Estimate! Call 888-579-7454 Today!
Stella & Jesse Waltz, P.E., Owners
PRSRT STD ECRWSS U.S. POSTAGE
of free inspection. Not to be
ROTTED WOOD combinedWET BASEMENT with any other offer. MUSTY SMELLS BOUNCY FLOORS STICKING WINDOWS MOLD & FUNGUS CRACKED DRYWALL BUGS & RODENTS
Owned & Operated by Professional Engineers!
PERMITNO.1371
FOUNDATION REPAIR•CRAWL SPACE *Any ENCAPSULATION job over $3000. Good BASEMENT WATERPROOFING only when presented at time
FOUNDATION REPAIR CRAWL SPACE ENCAPSULATION BASEMENT WATERPROOFING
LAUREL, MD
WETBASEMENT? $500 off!* SETTLING FOUNDATION CRACKED BRICKS UNEVEN FLOORS NASTY CRAWL SPACE
Continued on Page 22
www.insidenova.com l Like us on Facebook: sungazettenews l Follow us on Twitter: @sungazettenews @sungazettespts Local Postal Customer
ONLINE
Fairfax County paid 1,421 employees $100,000 or more in 2016, but those figures do not include many public-safety workers whose overtime payments bumped many of them into the six-figure range. Twenty-seven of the county’s top 30 overtime earners last year worked for the Who makes Fire and Rescue Department and what? See three for the Po- ranking on lice Department. Page 22 Nine took home $200,000 or more, and 10 earned more than the police and fire chiefs. Overtime payouts have risen considerably during the past several years. Rounding to the nearest hundred thousand dollars, the county paid $57.1 million worth of overtime in 2016, $55.4 million in 2015, $51.3 million in 2014 and $43.1 million in 2013, said county spokesman Tony Castrilli. Neither the Fairfax County government nor the Fair Labor Standards Act limit the number of hours employees may work in any given work week, but each county
agency must manage its overtime hours and costs, he said. County officials do not include overtime payments when calculating employees’ pension benefits, Castrilli said. Overtime pay is not a perquisite, but a necessity caused by mandatory, round-the-clock staffing requirements, said Fairfax County Fire Chief Richard Bowers Jr. The Fire and Rescue Department must fill 356 positions each day, he said. The department now has about 45 vacancies, which is down from 103 in February 2015, he added. “Overtime in public safety is needed and good,” Bowers said. “It is more cost-effective from a management-and-labor perspective.” It is cheaper to pay employees overtime than hire additional workers and have to cover their benefits as well, Bowers said. “Using existing personnel on overtime rather than hiring additional positions allows for savings on training costs, operating supplies and benefits,” Castrilli added. “Staff continually monitors overtime trends as it relates to staffing