Pelican site reveals salary irregularities, particularly in police and wildlife and fisheries departments

NEW ORLEANS, La. – News outlet WDSU.com has utilized LouisianaSunshine.org, a project of the Pelican Institute for Public Policy, to show startlingly high overtime rates among government employees. In some cases, these employees are earning more in overtime than they do from their base salaries.

Watch the five minute video here.

The WDSU I-Team, led by Travers Mackel, noted the Crescent City Connection police department as a chief culprit for excessive overtime payments. Highway foreman Joseph Leblanc, for example, received $66,000 in overtime, while his base salary was $55,000.

“It absolutely raises red flags,” said Kevin Kane, president of the Pelican Institute. Although he cautioned that we need to know more about the circumstances of each individual case.

The Crescent City Connection insight follows a recent Pelican Post commentary which noted this police department already has other fiscal embarrassments on its hands, and its funding may soon dry up.

In addition to 190,000 salary records, LouisianaSunshine.org has a complete database of state-level contracts and vendor payments.

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