Law enforcement officers are often the highest-paid public employees in cities and counties throughout Oregon, with some earning more than paid elected officials and department heads when overtime payouts are included.

The Statesman Journal, using the state public records law, filed numerous requests to state and local government agencies for data detailing how much public employees are being paid. The results of those requests, with salary data for more than 76,000 government positions, can be found online at data.statesmanjournal.com/salary/.

In Salem, a police sergeant was the highest-paid employee in the city in fiscal 2022 at $232,296 when his $84,537 overtime payout was added to his $147,759 salary. In Keizer, a sergeant earned $156,720 when his $5,434 overtime pay was included, more than the city manager and all but two department heads.

It's unclear how much overtime Marion County Sheriff's Office employees were paid.

When the Statesman Journal requested overtime data, the county asked for an additional $287 beyond the $49 initially charged and paid for other salary data.

According to the provided salary data, 60 Sheriff's Office employees earned more than the county commissioners' $104,000 salary, and an undersheriff earned $164,572, more than the former sheriff.

See the database:Who makes what in Salem-area government agencies?

In Polk County, five people who worked as deputies or at the county jail earned more than Sheriff Mark Garton's salary of $112,476 in...

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