Duchesne County approves one-time wage-scale increase for sheriff’s deputies to address staffing shortfall

The Duchesne County Commission voted April 14 to raise the sheriff's department wage scale after hearing from Sheriff Tucker about persistent vacancies and turnover.

Sheriff Tucker told commissioners the office was down about 9–10 deputies and that the department had fallen behind competing state and county pay scales. He asked the commission for what he described as emergency funding to raise starting pay to $28 per hour and to implement a $5.05-per-hour increase across existing deputies to reduce pay compression and retain trained staff.

County finance figures presented at the meeting showed the full-time wage line in the sheriff's budget would increase from $4,400,722.86 to $4,871,380.30 under the proposal; the incremental compensation cost the county identified was $646,718.82 for 2025. Clerk Nodrick told the commission that the added cost did not include benefits.

Commissioners voiced support for the increase but also raised budget cautions. One commissioner said the county's existing $800,000 buffer (noted as an approximate amount during discussion) tied to positions left vacant could be used to absorb the change in the near term, but warned that sustained overtime from low staffing could deplete that cushion. Sheriff Tucker said the office had reviewed overtime policies and would improve documentation and approvals while the department worked to hire replacements.

Commissioner Judd moved to approve the wage-scale increase for the sheriff's department; the motion passed on a voice vote with Commissioners Killian, Chug and Miles recorded as voting "aye." The commission did not adopt new long-term budget language at the meeting; commissioners said they would monitor the county's finances and may need to revisit budget decisions in future years if revenues fall short of projections.

The commission directed county payroll and human resources to implement rate changes and to provide the necessary personnel change notices (PCNs) for payroll processing so raises could take effect on the next applicable pay period, subject to standard payroll timing and any classification questions that remain.

The action raises the county's immediate labor costs; commissioners said they preferred the present approach to continued turnover in the sheriff's office, while acknowledging it might require drawing on reserves or asking voters for additional funding if royalty and other revenues do not meet expectations in coming years.