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Page County sheriff proposes pay strategy, requests staffing and equipment funding
Summary
Sheriff Charles McCallum urged the Board of Supervisors to prioritize raises for deputies and jailers, proposed freezing the sheriff and chief deputy salaries for two years to reallocate funds, and outlined needs including academy costs, new patrol vehicles, jail staffing, overtime and an off-site IT backup for the sheriff's office.
Sheriff Charles McCallum told the Board of Supervisors that his department is struggling to recruit and retain deputies and jail staff and asked the county to reallocate limited budget dollars to address pay and staffing shortfalls.
"We are willing ... to take a 0% increase this year and next year if we can get the people that work for us some type of extra type of money," Sheriff Charles McCallum said, describing a plan in which he and Chief Deputy Bridal would freeze their raises so line deputies could receive larger increases.
McCallum said deputies' pay is lagging compared with surrounding counties and that low pay increases hiring, training and overtime costs. He told supervisors the department is currently short two deputies and two jailers and that overtime is already a large line item: "we're set at 43% of our budget on overtime," he said. He also described the jail work as demanding and often involving inmates with mental-health and substance-use issues,…
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