November 21, 2017 at 4:28 p.m.
Hartman seeks solution to salary discrepancy
Sheriff willing to cut funding to resolve issue
Hartman seeks solution to salary discrepancy
By By Evan J. Pretzer-
"Since 2013, the deputies in the department have bargained for two new contracts," he said. "As a result, our captains and chief deputy have had their salaries compressed. What makes this the right time to work on this issue is we recently lost one of our captains to another department and have a limited number of people to fill his position."
In order for a deputy to be promoted to the position of captain in the department, an individual would have to have four years of experience to first ascend to a sergeant rank and then three years of this title before rising into the upper levels of force management, he explained.
In most jobs, the higher you rise, the more you earn. But here, it's different. As higher-ranking officers don't negotiate as a group for their contracts with the county, they miss out on several of the perks their lower ranking peers get such as higher quality health insurance, paid time off and more money for the work they do, Hartman said.
According to a document Hartman handed out to committee members, the two captains currently employed by the department make less than $80,000 every year. In contrast, of the nine sergeants listed on the same sheet, five made more than their commanders.
In addition, one sergeant was also making more than the chief deputy, taking home $91,000 at the end of the year in contrast to the chief deputy's $89,000.
For Hartman, there is a solution.
At the meeting he handed out a proposal outlining what could be done to fix this issue and re-structure the department so it doesn't happen again
In the proposal, upper-level officers would be given the same health-related benefits as their peers, would have to work longer hours and would have their cost-of-living increases tied to the deputies.
Ultimately, the committee took no action and directed Hartman to work with finance director Darcy Smith to come up with more concrete numbers pertaining to how the proposal would fit into the county budget in the future, perhaps even in early 2018.
Whatever happens, Hartman is determined to resolve the problem.
"This is really important," he said. "If I have to hurt the funding of other things to get this done, I will do so to keep it fiscally responsible. The goal is to get it right so we never have such a problem again."
Evan J. Pretzer may be reached via email at [email protected].
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