San Jose's highest-paid city employee is fire engineer Spencer Piercy, who earned over $1 million in overtime over three years. - Piercy earned $437,337 in overtime in 2025, more than double his base pay.
- Nearly 400 city fire and police employees earned six-figure overtime in 2025, triple the 2020 number. - The city faces a $50 million budget deficit, with proposed cuts including delaying a fire station.
- Officials cite staffing shortages and rising service demands as reasons for overtime reliance. The city is implementing reforms to control overtime spending, but union leaders say hiring challenges persist.