By CRIS BARRISH, The News Journal
Posted Sunday, November 11, 2007
Every single day, Joe Belanger starts work at 8 a.m. Sixteen hours later, at midnight, he goes home and catches about five hours of sleep.
Then Belanger does laundry and starts the cycle again -- except on Sundays, when he works only 12 hours.
Such is the life of this 48-year-old Delaware Correctional Center sergeant, who takes advantage of the shortage of guards at the prison to work 108 hours a week.
The sacrifices are great.
"I have no personal life," Belanger said last week. The financial rewards, however, are huge.
Belanger, who started as a correctional officer in 1980, earned $165,629 last year -- including $111,553 in overtime pay -- the most overtime of any state employee. By contrast, Gov. Ruth Ann Minner's salary was $141,200.
This year, Belanger said, he's on track to earn more than $170,000 total. His current salary -- for a 40-hour week without overtime -- is $53,000.
"I'm on a mission," he said. "It's to improve my quality of life."
While business management authorities say working too much overtime can wreak havoc on an employee's family life and health and create unsafe working conditions, especially in a dangerous environment like a prison, Belanger said he's managing well.
Sitting outside the Smyrna-area prison about 10 a.m. Monday, the short, stocky man of Okinawan and French-Canadian descent looked fresh and bright-eyed as he reviewed assignment sheets and sipped a cup of Wawa tea.
While other top overtime earners in Delaware would not consent to an interview, Belanger readily agreed to discuss his overtime work on the condition that family matters not be part of the conversation.
He's working so many hours to ensure that when he retires in about two years, his annual pension will equal or exceed his salary, Belanger said.
Two years ago, when Delaware's swelling prison population and widespread shortage of guards increased the need for overtime shifts, Belanger got permission to get a demotion from captain -- one of the prison's top 10 officials in rank -- so he could capitalize on the overtime.
While many guards are forced to stay a second shift -- a controversial practice known as "freezing" -- Belanger said he's a willing volunteer. "As a captain, I saw many of my subordinates making a lot more than I was making with less stress on them," he said."It just seemed logical for me to make a choice for myself to better my pay and reduce my stress."
At his current pace, Belanger should have a lucrative retirement if he retires in two years at age 50.
According to the state's pension law, for his 30 years of service, Belanger would be eligible to retire then and immediately collect a full pension. The pension formula is based on the last three years of an employee's total pay. If Belanger earns $500,000 the final three years -- an average of $166,000 annually -- his pension would be about $96,000 a year.
Corrections commissioner Carl Danberg said although the state will pay Belanger handsomely the rest of his life, he is thankful Belanger and others volunteer for shifts that would be forced on colleagues.
"Every time I see Joe, he's active and alert," Danberg said. "Joe's personal life allows him to make this decision, but it's not for everybody. I'm grateful for him and all the staff willing to work long hours. It reduces the amount of time we have to freeze people."
For Belanger, who has enough college credits to graduate but no degree, the financial tradeoff is worth what he's missing.
Even though he has gained about 20 pounds during the last two years, Belanger said he doesn't have the anxiety levels of some supervisors at the prison that houses murderers, rapists, drug traffickers and other violent criminals.
Nor does he have time for leisure or family activities. Belanger quit his bowling league. Visits with his parents, who live in the area, are almost nonexistent. He tries to listen to the radio or scan the newspaper, but rarely turns on a television. "I couldn't tell you any of the prime time shows that are on," he said.
His last day off was Sept. 20. Though he could take four weeks of vacation, he has taken only 12 days off the entire year, including weekends. Instead, he spends his waking life on the job, arising about 5:30 a.m. -- without an alarm clock.
From 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., he coordinates inmate transportation for medical appointments outside the prison, often doing the driving himself. After 4 p.m, he works in the guard tower, patrols the grounds or handles other assignments such as watching inmates at hospitals.
He rarely gets tired, Belanger said. Besides hot tea in the morning, he also drinks about two glasses of iced tea over the 16 hours to help stay alert. The job keeps him on his toes, and he doesn't cloud his mind with the events passing him by.
"Psychologically, I don't think about those things because I don't want to get distracted from my endeavor. So I keep focused on what I'm doing," Belanger said. "The opportunity is there and I'm biting on it."
Contact senior reporter Cris Barrish at 324-2785 or cbarrish@delawareonline.com
Joe Belanger, a correctional sergeant at the Delaware Correctional Center near Smyrna, earned about $110,000 in overtime pay last year.
The News Journal/CARLA VARISCO-WILLIAMS
