Two ranking Youngstown police officers collected more than $160,000 in overtime pay last year, not including their regular salaries.

We see that as nothing but an abuse of power and an attempt to drive up their individual retirement benefits.

According to information provided last week by Youngstown interim Finance Director Kyle Miasek, city police Lt. Frank Rutherford Jr. received $82,558.82 in overtime pay in 2019. Detective Sgt. Mohammed S. Awad received $81,779.29 in overtime last year.

That’s more than either of them earned in their regular salaries.

While these are the most egregious collections of overtime pay, we suspect there are other abuses of overtime collections, not only among police ranks but among all city departments.

Shame on city management for allowing any one city worker to collect such outrageous amounts of overtime — all paid by the taxpayers.

As most private employers would tell you, overtime must be managed. It should not be accepted as a certitude.

Also, shame on the state retirement system for creating an environment that encourages this type of abuse. You see, under Ohio law, public pension amounts are based on average annual salaries established while public employees were in the workforce.

That rule encourages public workers, especially those heading toward retirement age, to begin padding their paychecks with exorbitant amounts of overtime to drive up their average salary.

Now Miasek says the Youngstown ranking officers union is seeking even larger raises than what the city has given to other unions. The city has agreed to give 1.5 percent raises this year and 1 percent for 2021 to other unions. We believe those raises are reasonable, especially when compared to salary and pay increases earned by the average Youngstown resident. While the economy nationwide has improved in recent years, private sector workers in Mahoning and Trumbull counties have not seen a comparable growing number of jobs, nor significant increases in their salaries at the same pace. Let’s not forget, these are the people who foot the bill for public sector workers.

Youngstown police ranking officers automatically received the same 1.5 percent and 1 percent raises for this year and 2021 even without approving a new contract because that union has a provision in its labor pact obligating the city to pay these union members a certain percentage more than the patrol officers at all times. Because the patrol officers received raises in August, the ranking officers were awarded the same pay increases.

Still, the ranking officers “believe they deserve more,” Miasek said, and he expects they will seek it in binding arbitration.

We encourage taxpayers and city residents to speak out about reining in what we see as an abuse of overtime by city workers. Attend city council meetings or call and write city hall.

At the end of the day, it’s up to our elected leaders and our appointed managers to ensure we are living within our means. Those decisions aren’t always easy, but they are necessary.

editorial@tribtoday.com