AUSTIN, Texas — We're now learning just how much it cost taxpayers for more Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS) troopers to patrol in Austin.
According to a report from KVUE's media partners at the Austin American Statesman, in the first three months after DPS troopers began a special patrol assignment in Austin – first in partnership with the City, then on orders from Gov. Greg Abbott – the department spent $3.7 million on overtime wages.
That's according to payroll records obtained by the Statesman. The overtime records show that through Aug. 15, DPS averaged nearly $1.2 million in overtime per month for those first three months. The records reflect a 3-month period from the day the partnership initially began on March 30, minus a month and a half when the partnership was put on hold because Abbott sent troopers to the border instead.
In total, troopers have worked more than 61,000 overtime hours.
The pay records show that nearly 950 troopers have worked overtime as part of the Austin task force. Over the first three months, those with the highest workloads made anywhere from $14,000 to $24,000 in overtime wages.
To learn more, read the Statesman's full report.