Deputy overtime pay spurs audit

Concerned about the spiraling cost of overtime in the Orange County Sheriff’s Department, Supervisor John Moorlach has asked a county auditor to study whether the department should hire more deputies instead of paying them tens of millions of dollars in overtime.

The Times reported Wednesday that the department’s overtime expenses have soared during the last few years, with two-thirds of the 1,700 sworn deputies now making more than $100,000 annually. “We have to take a hard look at whether this overtime is justified,” Moorlach said.

-- Stuart Pfeifer and Christian Berthelsen