By Sarah Roebuck
Police1
SAN FRANSISCO — For nearly a decade, a majority of San Francisco Deputy Sheriff Barry Bloom’s life was spent on duty, the San Fransisco Chronicle reports.
Bloom, who works as a public safety monitor at San Fransisco City Hall, was on duty for an average of 95 hours a week since 2016. Over the last two fiscal years, he spent more than 100 hours a week on duty, city data shows.
Bloom and a handful of co-workers are part of a group of large overtime earners at the sheriff’s office. Officials said the employees rack up a lot of overtime hours due to the agency’s long-running staffing shortages. Every sworn employee at the sheriff’s office is required to work at least two overtime shifts per week, but some volunteer for more. In some cases, they earn as much as four times their base salaries.
For example, Bloom’s annual pay in the 2022 fiscal year was $123,790, but with overtime, he made $530,935, the San Fransisco Chronicle reports.
Bloom has consistently ranked among the top three overtime earners in the city every year since 2016. Over this period, he accumulated over $2.2 million in overtime compensation, a substantially higher amount than any other municipal employee. Following Bloom, the next two individuals with the highest overtime earnings were Deputy Sheriff Kristian DeJesus and Senior Deputy Sheriff Michael Borovina Jr. They garnered approximately $1.9 million and $1.8 million in overtime pay respectively, starting from 2016.
Sheriff Paul Miyamoto is familiar with Bloom’s diligent work patterns, confirming that Bloom has been consistently putting in an astonishing number of overtime hours. Miyamoto mentioned that the deputy has been honored with multiple awards for his dedicated service and was even highlighted in a recruitment video recently.
Over the course of a recent four-month period, Bloom made around 28 instances of “Narcan saves,” Miyamoto said. “He doesn’t just sign up for overtime, but he actually gets the work done,” Miyamoto told the San Fransisco Chronicle.
Although Bloom has held various positions in the past, Miyamoto noted that his current focus revolves mainly around patrolling city hall. Miyamoto explained that the sheriff’s office maintains a continuous presence around the building’s perimeter, ensuring security at all times. The building often remains accessible well beyond typical business hours, primarily due to the extended duration of Board of Supervisors meetings.
Miyamoto characterized Bloom as modest and reserved, mentioning that encouraging him to participate in award ceremonies where he will be recognized is a challenging task. Miyamoto also mentioned that Bloom is presently supporting his children’s college education.