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Sheriff Rob Blair asks county commissioners for staffing, equipment and training increases in 2025 budget
Summary
Sheriff Rob Blair told Berkeley County commissioners the sheriff’s office needs more deputies, higher starting pay, additional social-worker positions and equipment upgrades, and presented line-item increases and grant awards supporting the requests.
Sheriff Rob Blair told Berkeley County commissioners on the record that his office is seeking multiple staffing additions, pay adjustments and equipment upgrades in the department’s 2025 budget request.
The request, presented by Sheriff Rob Blair, asks for five additional deputy positions (bringing funded positions from 68 toward 73), a $5,000 across-the-board pay-scale adjustment for current deputies, new and replacement equipment, and funding to continue and expand the office’s police social worker program. Blair also noted recent grant awards and pending grant applications that would offset some costs.
The sheriff said the recruitment and retention requests are driven by rising call volumes and reductions in state trooper staffing that he said shift workload to county agencies. “We are way behind on” national officer-per-capita recommendations, Blair said, urging the commission to view hiring as a multi-year project. Blair proposed five new deputy positions with an estimated payroll cost (for the positions) described in…
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