Berkeley County sheriff asks commissioners for pay bumps, new deputies and civilian positions to ease patrol workload

Sheriff Robert "Rob" Blair told the Berkeley County Commission on March 1 that his office needs new personnel and equipment to keep pace with county growth and rising public‑safety demands. Blair asked commissioners to approve two additional deputy positions and a $5,000 increase to base pay for deputies, a package he said would raise the starting salary to about $62,466 and cost roughly $375,000 across the force.

Blair framed the requests as retention and recruitment tools in a competitive labor market he said now pulls deputies to neighboring municipal departments and the West Virginia State Police. "The request we're making is what I'm — I feel like is reasonable to stay within that ballpark," Blair said, noting the state police’s recruiting incentives and the potential loss of experienced deputies.

The sheriff also asked the commission to fund three civilian roles — an evidence technician, a quartermaster/training coordinator, and an additional police social worker — so uniformed deputies can return to field patrols. Blair said two of those civilian jobs would replace duties currently handled by sworn officers and estimated costs of about $80,590 per civilian position (including benefits). He said the additional police social‑worker position (about $89,730) has reduced officer workloads and aids mental‑health responses.

Blair outlined operating increases including training, professional services for hiring/forensics, ammunition and SWAT equipment, and increases in overtime related to crash reconstruction and minimum shift coverage. He said some capital acquisitions can be funded in part from a newly created forfeiture/impact fund, and he described a partnership that would leave decisions about that fund's use to the commission.

Commissioners asked follow‑up questions about filling vacancies, the civil‑service hiring process and opportunities to use grant or forfeiture funding for equipment. Blair said the department has pursued contractual arrangements (schools, events) to offset overtime and is coordinating with the civil‑service commission on streamlined hiring steps.

Next steps: Blair’s budget requests were recorded for the commission’s budget deliberations; the commission staff will review whether to fund the full package, prioritize items or use restricted forfeiture/impact funds for capital purchases.