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Sheriff urges board to prioritize pay, warns county's fixed revenue and population trends squeeze recruiting
Summary
At a May 4 Cochise County Board of Supervisors work session the sheriff outlined a budget request focused on recruitment and retention, saying the county ranks in the "bottom third" for pay and faces stiff competition from neighboring counties and federal agencies. Staff said the sheriff's department's total proposed increase is about $2.28 million, driven largely by a statutory transfer to the jail district.
The Cochise County sheriff told the Board of Supervisors on May 4 that recruitment and retention are the department's top budget priorities as the county faces market pressure from neighboring counties and federal agencies.
"My philosophy is very simple" the sheriff said, adding that the department has focused on local hiring and a homegrown academy but still loses deputies to state and federal employers offering higher pay. He told the board Cochise is in the "bottom third" of comparable counties for starting pay and said some neighboring counties recently approved raises and hiring bonuses.
The sheriff described several internal steps he has taken to reduce the need for an outside ask, including moving vacancy savings into a…
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