Twenty-nine of Fresno’s 50 highest compensated employees in 2025 worked in the city’s Fresno Fire Department, according to city records obtained by The Fresno Bee.
Two fire captains — Emil John Ross ($405,555) and Juan Perez ($394,022) — held the top two spots, outpacing the city manager, police chief and other high-ranking officials largely due to overtime pay, according to the information released to The Bee through a public records request.
Both Ross and Perez made more in overtime with $221,589 and $201,292, respectively, than they did from regular pay. The OT pay was nearly doubled what Ross ($127,778) and Perez ($136,879) were compensated for regular hours…