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Sheriff's office outlines staffing challenges, academy costs and retention plans
Summary
Sheriff's department official reported two recent academy graduates, two deputies soon to graduate, one open deputy position, an expense of 24,648 for hosting Harrison County inmates for 16 days, and a $3,870 pay separation between entry-level and academy-trained deputies; the county is pursuing retention measures ahead of budget hearings.
Mr. Miller, a department head, briefed the council on detention and staffing issues in the sheriff’s office, saying the county has been housing Harrison County inmates under an agreement and reported costs for the first 16 days at 24,648.
He said two deputies graduated the academy last November, two are currently in the academy and due to graduate in roughly three weeks, and one deputy vacancy remained open. Mr. Miller explained the costs of recruiting and training officers, including academy tuition, housing, meals, uniforms and other start-up costs, and described a roughly $3,870 separation the county has maintained between entry-level deputies and academy-trained deputies.
On pay, the transcript contains two figures presented by Mr. Miller for deputy pay bands (spoken as "57,94" and "61,864" in the recording); those numbers are recorded here verbatim from the transcript and should be verified for exactness. He said the county is reviewing pay and retention strategies and that a retention committee (converted from an overtime committee) will meet ahead of the next budget cycle to examine options to retain county employees.
Council members thanked Mr. Miller and expressed support for the proposed retention committee work prior to budget hearings. The transcript shows council members urged examining pay scales and hiring practices so an officer who already completed the academy could be hired and placed on patrol more quickly than sending a new hire to the academy.
