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Sheriff urges substantial pay adjustments for rank-and-file and flags radio/tower maintenance savings opportunities
Summary
The sheriff told commissioners that wages in his office lag peers and proposed phased raises (4% civilian, 10% rank-and-file/dispatchers, 7% for lieutenants/captains/majors); he also described test work on removing two towers from a radial system that could save roughly $100,000 in maintenance and lower a larger Motorola retooling exposure.
Leavenworth County’s sheriff presented his 2027 budget as a ‘‘no-frills’’ request but asked the board to consider market corrections to wages to improve recruitment and retention.
The sheriff described a proposed pay adjustment plan that would increase pay scales in tiers — a 4% increase for civilian staff, 10% for rank-and-file deputies and dispatchers and 7% for lieutenants, captains and majors — arguing local wages are not competitive and that pay disparities undermine retention.
He also described operational savings opportunities in radio and tower maintenance: tests removing two radial-system towers have performed well except for one site, and the sheriff said he is working with Motorola and the Kansas Department of Agriculture (?) partners (KDA referenced) to identify fixes (additional antenna or dish realignment) that could save roughly $100,000 in maintenance and reduce exposure to the larger Motorola retooling estimate.
Commissioners asked for the pay-comparison materials and the sheriff pointed them to narrative pages and pay-breakout tables in his submission; no vote was taken and the board asked staff to review the pay-plan comparisons during budget deliberations.
Next steps: sheriff’s office to provide formal pay-comparison spreadsheets and staff to evaluate radio/tower technical fixes with vendor partners.
