HOUSTON -- The Harris County Sheriff's Office plans to pay deputies to work overtime to cover for dozens of vacancies in the patrol division as county administrators begin studying the controversial contract deputy program, according to e-mails obtained by the Houston Chronicle.

A Chronicle analysis of the program earlier this month found the county immediately filled deputy positions paid for by civic associations and municipal utility districts even though about a fifth of the department's 352 regular patrol slots remained vacant.

At the request of Commissioner Sylvia Garcia, Commissioners Court voted today to ask Budget Officer Dick Raycraft to study the sheriff's contract deputy program and similar ones run by the county's eight constables. Garcia has said she would block any new or expanded contracts until the study is completed.

Deputies will begin working overtime Sunday in four-hour blocks to cover the vacant shifts, according to an e-mail Capt. Lanny Hitchcock wrote to supervisors on Monday. Deputies may volunteer to work two four-hour overtime shifts on their days off and one on their regular work days. If there are not enough volunteers, mandatory overtime shifts will be assigned, according to another e-mail from a district supervisor to deputies.

Lt. John Legg, a spokesman for the sheriff's department, said discussions have taken place about changing the overtime policy, but no decisions have been made. Chief Deputy Danny Billingsley, who oversees patrol, was not available today to discuss the plans.

The plans being discussed call for deputies to work at least 1,600 to 2,000 hours of overtime a week, Legg said. With overtime pay rates ranging from about $28.50 an hour for new deputies to about $42 for the most senior veterans, the program could cost between about $46,000 and $84,000 a week.

Deputy Bob Goerlitz, a board member of the Harris County Deputies' Organization, said he and his colleagues are thrilled about the change because it will put more men on the street to tackle crime and provide backup in dangerous situations.

But he called the idea a stop-gap measure that will not solve the department's pressing manpower issues.

"Overtime to fill those spots is one thing, but actually having the bodies, the people, to fill those positions is a much better solution," he said.

When asked about the potential for officer burnout, Goerlitz said he only would be concerned if the program continued unabated for many months. He said he actually expects morale to improve in the short term because having more officers to handle the regular calls should free up time for proactive police work.

Under the current system, he said, regular patrol officers are so swamped with emergency calls they cannot even attempt to conduct drug busts or crack down on gangs and prostitution.

The department's contract deputy program allows civic associations, school districts and municipal utility districts to pay the county to have deputies assigned to specific areas or neighborhoods rather than larger patrol districts that may include dozens of subdivisions.

The Forest Cove subdivision hired the first contract sheriff's deputy in the early 1970s. Since then, the sheriff's program has grown to more than 250 deputies working 119 contracts. As of this spring, the county's eight elected constables had about 600 contract deputies assigned to about 200 contracts.

Groups that want to hire a contract deputy generally pay the county nearly $56,000 a year, which covers about 70 percent of an officer's salary and benefits. The deputy is supposed to devote 70 percent of his or her working hours to patrolling the contract area.

Some neighborhoods hire just one deputy for one shift, while others pay for around-the-clock coverage. One of the sheriff's largest contracts calls for 24-hour protection by three officers.

Billingsley last month blamed the non-contract staffing shortages on recruiting challenges being experienced by law enforcement agencies nationwide. But he said vacant contract positions are given priority because the county has signed contracts promising to provide coverage.