Resident urges higher pay; county finance director outlines recent and planned increases for public safety

A Rutherford County resident used public comment to press the commission to raise public-safety pay, saying the county should fund salaries at the 90th percentile to retain workers who can afford to live locally. Commissioners and county staff then addressed pay changes the county has approved over the last two years and those proposed in the current budget.

"My name is William Travis, and I live at 1333 Round Rock Drive," said the resident, who previously worked for the sheriff's office. He said a commissioner's remark that the sheriff's office should hire from outside the county "is a tacit and condemnatory admission that this county does not pay its first responders a wage sufficient enough to live here." He urged the commission to use unexpected revenue to increase salaries and said he would accept higher property taxes to fund pay at the 90th percentile.

After public comment, Michael, the county finance director, gave a detailed clarification of recent and proposed compensation actions. "What's in the budget this year right now is an approximate 2 percent lift to the county pay table," he said, noting eligible employees would also receive a 1.75% step increase where applicable. In addition, Michael said targeted pay-grade adjustments proposed in the current budget would increase pay for firefighters, EMTs and detention officers by two pay grades (about 6%) and that group would receive roughly a combined increase of about 9.75% when other measures are included. He said patrol received a proposed single pay-grade increase (about 3%), and that 50 to 70 positions across departments were reclassified per a recent market study, with those reclassifications ranging from roughly 10% to more substantial increases in some cases.

Michael noted these changes are on top of prior increases: the county previously implemented a 4.25% increase last July and another 4.25% increase earlier this year. Asked whether those targeted increases stack with earlier raises, Michael said they do; he summarized that some employees in targeted groups may see total increases in the low to mid-teens percent range once all adjustments are applied.

Chairman Phillips and other commissioners said they wanted the public to know the commission is addressing compensation and that the county has made multiple pay adjustments over the prior two years. The commission did not take an immediate vote to raise base pay to a specified percentile; instead, staff and commissioners said they would continue to consider compensation policy and that previous and proposed actions already provide significant increases for some public-safety groups.

The resident comment and the finance report will be part of ongoing budget and compensation discussions; commissioners asked staff to present details and follow up at future meetings.