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Sheriff warns county is understaffed; requests more patrol deputies amid overtime costs and 911 staffing concerns
Summary
The county sheriff told commissioners the department—s workload and case assignments outpace current staffing and asked for additional patrol deputies and a lieutenant for training/standards, noting heavy overtime and shortages in investigators and telecommunicators.
The Pender County sheriff briefed the commission on staffing shortfalls across patrol, investigations and detention, and urged the board to consider additional positions and pay adjustments to improve recruitment and retention.
The sheriff said the office originally requested eight new patrol deputies but recognizes budget constraints; he emphasized the operational gap in light of county growth, saying the current staffing translates to "1 deputy for every 10,000 citizens" under the department—s calculations. He added investigators are carrying large caseloads, reporting roughly "350 cases assigned to each detective" last year.
Ongoing operational pressures: the sheriff and staff described persistent overtime: the budget packet and presenters noted roughly $800,000 in overtime so far in FY2024 (a multi-hundred-thousand-dollar annual pattern). The sheriff and commissioners agreed that persistent vacancies force overtime and reduce the ability to staff normal shifts.
Telecommunicator and detention staffing: the sheriff and county staff reported several vacancies in key units: six vacancies in 9-1-1 telecommunicators, four in school resource officers (SROs), two in patrol (with applicants in process), and four detention vacancies. The sheriff flagged the build-out of the new Law Enforcement Center (LEC) as a staffing driver: the LEC will have more beds and operational capacity and the department needs to plan training pipelines and hires in advance of opening.
Pay and recruitment discussion: Commissioners asked about starting pay and competitiveness with neighboring counties. The sheriff and commissioners discussed county pay ranges, noting Onslow County—s recent increases; one commissioner urged raising deputy starting salaries toward $58,000 to improve recruitment and reduce overtime costs. The sheriff confirmed competitive pay would help but said qualified applicants remain limited; county staff and the sheriff agreed further analysis of pay compression and total compensation is necessary before changing salary schedules.
Ending: Commissioners asked county staff to run the numbers on potential salary increases and to continue working with the sheriff on vacancy filling and overtime management. The sheriff reiterated the need for additional deputies, detectives and support staff to maintain public safety as the county grows.
