Community advisory group and advocates urge pay parity for sheriff's deputies with police and fire raises

Speakers at the Arlington County budget hearing called on the County Board to give Arlington County Sheriff's Office uniformed deputies the same percentage pay increase proposed for police and fire personnel.

Charles Hadden, chair of the community advisory group to the sheriff's office, said limiting deputies to the 3.5% raise proposed in the manager's budget while police and fire receive larger increases would worsen pay inequities and exacerbate understaffing. Hadden said vacancies force mandatory overtime and lockdowns that harm inmate welfare and the wellbeing of deputies.

Anita Martineau, a 46‑year Arlington resident and retired government employee, said deputies perform ‘‘traumatizing’’ work that includes exposure to violence, bodily fluids and threats, and urged the board to treat their pay as a community investment. She noted that only about 19 of roughly 200 sheriff's office employees live in Arlington and said higher pay would help achieve the board's long‑standing goal of more first responders living locally.

Peter Raven Hansen, a member of the sheriff's community advisory board, described the detention facility as serving multiple roles — custody, mental health, addiction treatment and shelter — and warned that underpaying deputies who perform many of those functions could impair care and increase costs in the long run. Speakers asked the board to consider pay parity with police and fire to reduce mandatory overtime and improve recruitment and retention.

The manager's proposed budget included a 9% pay adjustment for police and an 11% adjustment for fire (presented by members of the public referencing the proposal), while the sheriff's office proposal in the manager's document is set at 3.5% for deputies; decisions on final pay adjustments will be resolved when the board adopts the FY2026 budget.