Sheriff asks to raise deputies and detention officers; board requests detailed cost estimate
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Summary
Sheriff Brent Holbrooks proposed advancing deputy pay grades one level, elevating detention officers to the deputy grade, and advancing civilian staff one grade; estimated half-year cost roughly $185,000 using vacancy savings, and commissioners asked staff to model options in Munis and return next month.
Sheriff Brent Holbrooks presented a personnel proposal seeking to raise pay grades across the Macon County Sheriff's Office to improve recruitment and retention. The sheriff told the board his office compared pay with five neighboring agencies and found Macon County starting salaries lagging; he proposed advancing deputies and civilian employees one pay grade and elevating detention officers to the deputy pay grade.
"We propose advancing deputy pay grades by 1 level in order to be comparable and competitive with other agencies and elevate detention officers to the current deputy pay grade," the sheriff said, adding that detention officers currently start substantially lower than deputies and said parity would recognize the detention officers' responsibilities. The sheriff estimated an immediate, half-year cost of about $185,000, saying much of that could be covered by current vacancies and unused salary funds.
Commissioners asked detailed questions about the scope, fairness across county departments, and the implications for the countywide pay study adopted earlier. Several commissioners expressed sympathy for the detention staff's working conditions and recruitment difficulties. Others cautioned that approving the sheriff's proposal in isolation could create pressure from other departments to seek similar increases and urged HR and finance to run the numbers in the county's Munis payroll system and return with options.
County finance and HR staff said they would plug the proposed pay-grade changes into Munis to produce precise costs, including full-year projections and benefit impacts, and present options at the next meeting. Sheriff Holbrooks and staff identified immediate vacancies (four open positions in the detention facility) and suggested initial funding could come from current salary savings and overtime reductions, but cautioned some costs (e.g., prisoner medical costs) are unpredictable.
The board did not adopt the pay changes immediately. Instead, commissioners voted to have staff provide a detailed cost analysis and options (including targeted increases for detention officers and a broader, countywide review) at the next meeting.
