$100K in overtime? Dozens of Houston employees doubled their pay working extra hours last year.

Vahid Jafari stayed busy last year. The Houston police officer worked 2070 hours of overtime, or more than $155,000 in overtime pay, in addition to the $62,961 he earned from his assignment in the department’s Hobby Airport Division. That made him the highest overtime earner in Houston in 2022, city payroll data show. And he had company: three other city employees more than tripled their pay with overtime compensation. David Ciers, a Houston cop who works in the department's Traffic Enforcement Division, pulled in almost $115,000 in overtime last year, on top of his $51,684 salary. His overtime assignments included shifts working DWI enforcement, dignitary escorts, traffic court, fatality call outs and guarding COVID-19 testing sites, city officials said, in response to a public records request.

They were among 13 city employees who made more than $100,000 in overtime last year. A review of city payroll data shows more than 140 employees more than doubled their salaries with overtime pay. Firefighter Mark Martinez, for example, earned a base salary of $50,534 last year. He earned $110,179 in overtime. Among the city’s civilian employees, the Chronicle found Houston Public Works employee Melanie Chow, a Structural Senior Plan Analyst, brought in about $90,000 on top of her $59,640 salary last year, and Gregory Miller — an Emergency Vehicle Technician with Fleet Management — earned $87,000 in overtime pay on top of his city salary of $62,140. The employees mentioned in this story did not respond to requests for comment or declined to comment. In a written statement, city spokeswoman Mary Benton said overtime is needed during labor shortages to keep the city safe and provides city services. She said the city’s staffing challenges “are not unique,” and reflect national trends and the toll of attrition. “The city of Houston is maintaining a fiscally responsible approach to managing its resources and personnel,” she said. “Providing services to 2.1 million residents costs money and requires a balance of utilizing existing employees effectively, sometimes through overtime, to fulfill the needs and demands.” She pointed to a $13.2 million infusion in overtime pay to place 125 more police officers on the street as part of the One Safe Houston initiative, which she said has helped to reduce overall violent crime by 10 percent.