$20K extra in overtime

A workaholic police dispatcher earned $20,000 in overtime last year.

The civilian employee who handles 111 calls at the Wellington communications centre was paid a regular wage of $70,000 to $80,000. He worked an extra 300 hours and was paid an average hourly rate of $67.

Police human resources general manager Wayne Annan said: "This person made themselves available to fill in whenever they needed someone to fill in at short notice."

The overtime bill for police between April 2008 and April 2009 was $1.15 million, according to figures released under the Official Information Act.