The city has tentatively settled a class-action lawsuit alleging more than 2,000 Honolulu police officers and firefighters were not properly paid over a three-year period, according to the mayor's office.

The amount of the settlement is $30 million, according to two sources familiar with the settlement who declined to be named because the City Council has not voted yet on it. Originally, police union and city officials had estimated the settlement could cost taxpayers up to $50 million.

The settlement follows similar agreements involving public safety employees on Maui and the Big Island that totaled $3 million.

"The mayor assisted the city in reaching a settlement with the plaintiffs," said Bill Brennan, press secretary for Mayor Mufi Hannemann. "City attorneys will be submitting the settlement to the City Council."

Alex Garcia, O'ahu chapter chairman for the State of Hawai'i Organization of Police Officers, declined comment yesterday.

Garcia posted word of the settlement on www.honolulupolice union.com along with information on how officers can review terms of the settlement and when they can expect a check.

City Councilman Charles Djou, who said police officers in his district alerted him to the settlement, said he is pleased the matter did not go to trial.

"I think settling is a good idea. The risk of going to trial and the exposure to the taxpayers could have cost hundreds of millions of dollars," he said yesterday. "I am concerned about how much this will cost because it will be a big hit to the taxpayers."

Filed on behalf of more than 1,500 officers under the Fair Labor Standards Act, the lawsuit alleges that from 1999 to 2002, Honolulu didn't pay officers for time they spent on activities such as work-related travel, command briefings before and after their shifts, missed meal breaks, and for cleaning and maintaining vehicles.

The lawsuit also alleges that officials improperly calculated overtime, that employees were not compensated for all work associated with the job, and that the city's compensation-time policies violate the FLSA.

More than 600 Honolulu firefighters also signed on to the suit.

In December 2004, Maui and Big Island officials finalized two settlements worth a total of $3 million to compensate police, firefighters and other public workers for overtime the counties allegedly failed to pay them.

A total of 221 current and former police officers and firefighters, and other county employees, joined in the class-action suit on the Big Island. Individuals received payments of $1,500 to $32,500, before lawyers' fees.

The Maui County settlement requires the county to pay $1.2 million to cover similar claims by 122 plaintiffs. Individuals in that case will receive payments ranging from $2,700 to $34,000.

Reach Peter Boylan at pboylan@honoluluadvertiser.com.