Sheriff tells commissioners staffing, vehicles and pay-step changes needed to keep deputies
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Summary
Sheriff Beavers asked commissioners for four deputies and four vehicles, step/pay adjustments to make pay scales competitive, and noted the department handled more than 31,000 calls for service last year.
Sheriff Beavers summarized operational figures and pressed the commissioners to approve requested staff and equipment to keep pace with county growth.
Beavers said the sheriff’s office responded to 31,064 deputy‑handled calls last year and listed precinct breakdowns for both calls and calls‑for‑service totals. He reiterated a request for four deputies and four vehicles plus two vehicles for the chief deputy and asked the court to consider reducing the years to top out on the step plan (discussed as moving from a 12‑year to a 10‑year or similar step schedule for law enforcement) to improve retention and recruitment.
“We just have to show that we're invested in our employees,” Beavers said, noting that nearby jurisdictions pay higher base salaries and that Hunt County recently raised base pay to levels the sheriff’s office cannot match. He also said internal pay differentials between corporal, sergeant and lieutenant ranks had been compressed; the department included adjustments in its request to widen those differentials so supervisory roles carry a pay premium.
The sheriff also referenced ongoing equipment needs (including radios and maintenance agreements for first‑responder gear) and said the auditor is working to reconcile seized vehicle proceeds tied to replacement vehicle requests. He raised the enterprise vehicle leasing/maintenance arrangement for review, saying the county may be able to manage maintenance in house if oversight and fuel card reconciliation are tightened.
No formal action was taken at the workshop. Commissioners said final budget decisions would wait until county revenue numbers are certified after the 20th.
