Some overtime payments for prison staffers approaching $300,000

Topline: The Rhode Island Department of Corrections spent a record $38.9 million on overtime in 2025, nearly a quarter of its total payroll expense, according to records obtained by Open the Books.

Key facts: Director Wayne Salisbury made $177,420 last year, but 117 of his employees outearned him because of massive overtime payments.

Of the 1,512 people who earned a paycheck from the Corrections Department last year, including part-time employees, 811 earned at least $10,000 in overtime. There were 65 employees who made more than $100,000 of overtime, including eight who made more than $200,000.

Corrections Officer Mark Wilbur made $284,293 in overtime and $7,564 in other pay, even though his base salary was just $86,392. That was almost the highest overtime payment for any state employee in Rhode Island history, second only to the $301,196 Wilbur earned in 2024.

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Background: Rhode Island has the 14th-most expensive state prison system per capita in the U.S., even though its incarceration rate is the third-lowest of any state, according to the Rhode Island Expenditure Council.

Overtime spending is one reason. Corrections officers are allowed to take “quad” shifts: four consecutive 8-hour shifts for a total of 32 working hours without a break. Overtime is normally paid at time-and-a-half, but the corrections officers earn double pay after working more than 16 consecutive hours.

WPRI12 previously reported that between 2016 and 2019, the number of “quad” shifts doubled in the corrections department. The department’s union negotiated a new contract in 2023 that included pay raises but no changes to overtime rules.

Last year, Gov. Dan McKee tried to save $12.7 million by closing a state prison that was 81% empty with just 135 inmates. The plan was scrapped following opposition from the union and a consultant study that found it could cost more than $12.7 million to relocate the 135 prisoners, according to the Providence Journal.

Corrections Assistant Director Brenda Brodeur told lawmakers her department would instead find cost savings by reducing overtime in 2026.

Supporting quote: Salisbury acknowledged that overtime spending is a problem in a 2023 interview with NBC10, but he pushed back on the idea that individual officers were earning too much.

“I would say that’s an officer that’s dedicated to public service and ensuring the safety and security of the institution,” he said. “They’re not just sitting and watching a building and checking doors. They’re dealing with people every day. They’re doing their job every day.”

Summary: Rhode Island lawmakers have verbally committed to solving their prison staffing issues, but an immediate solution is needed for the worsening problem.

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