Eaton County reconsidering $10,000 bonuses for sheriff's deputies, may reopen contract negotiations

Update (2:30 p.m. Friday): The board's Ways and Means Committee took no action on the request to offer bonuses to sheriff's deputies and instead agreed on an alternative strategy to recruit and retain employees, officials said.

The committee will recommend the county seek to reopen contract negotiations over wages and benefits with sheriff's department unions, Board of Commissioners Chairman Jeremy Whittum said Friday.

The committee's consensus: A long-term solution makes more sense than temporary bonuses, he said. The full board will discuss the committee's proposal Wednesday.

Original story:

The Eaton County Board of Commissioners Ways and Means Committee is set to consider Friday whether to offer $10,000 bonuses to sheriff’s deputies, officials said, in an effort to retain current employees and recruit new ones.

Officials said they are still determining how to fund the bonuses, but are considering two options: drawing from unspent funds in the Eaton County Sheriff's Office's budget, such as money budgeted for now-retired deputies and unfilled spots; or designating about $2 million, or approximately 11%, of the county’s unused federal American Rescue Plan Act funds.

According to the U.S. Department of Treasury, Eaton County received about $21.4 million from the federal legislation, signed by the Biden Administration in March 2021. The funds must be spent by the end of 2024.

Board of Commissioners Chairperson Jeremy Whittum said deputies already received $5,000 in bonuses from federal ARPA funds. They received a $2,000 bonus upon the ratification of their most recent contract in October 2021, and all county employees received a $3,000 bonus, doled out at $250 per month.

ARPA funds are eligible for three different purposes, according to the Treasury:

• "Fight the pandemic and support families and businesses struggling with its public health and economic impacts

• To maintain vital public services, even amid declines in revenue resulting from the crisis

• Build a strong, resilient, and equitable recovery by making investments that support long-term growth and opportunity"

Officials introduced the plan last week at a Board of Commissioners' Public Safety Committee meeting.

The impetus for the proposal was a recent wave of departures within the department, Eaton County Sheriff Tom Reich told the State Journal.

Deputies' wages lag behind those at some neighboring departments, he said.

Lower wages are a “double-edged sword,” he said. Eaton County has lost deputies to other departments that pay more money, and it also makes recruiting new officers more difficult.

Sheriff’s Office officials anticipate they could lose as many as 19 employees in the next four years. Some of those losses are confirmed retirements, including two deputies who will retire Friday, Chief Deputy Adam Morris said.

Other listed departures are possibilities; Reich said some deputies have expressed interest in leaving for higher salaries elsewhere.

“It’s (going to) be eight deputies total are going to be patrolling the roads,” Morris said. “Ideally, (with) our personnel, we would like to have four people per shift."

Eaton County’s entry-level wage for deputies is $45,511, Morris said. According to the slideshow, the top salary is $59,488. In comparison, it showed East Lansing police officers earn up to $64,591.

As negotiations for the current contract happened, according to Whittum, Ingham County approved a $9,000 bonus for its sheriff’s deputies.

ECSO's current contract determining wages will be in place until 2024.

Without bonuses, Whittum said, it could become difficult for the Sheriff’s Office to provide around-the-clock law enforcement patrol to all areas of the 579-square-mile county.

"Either we're going to fix the problem and keep our respected employees, or we're going to trigger a bidding war with the other departments," said Whittum, who said he plans to vote for the measure regardless of Friday's decision.

Whittum's main concern lies with the county road patrol, which is budgeted for 24 people and has 20 of those positions currently filled, including the two planned retirements.

The road patrol's coverage area does not include Delta Township, the county's most populous municipality, which contracts for 24 deputies from the Sheriff's Office.

Some outlying cities and townships — such as Charlotte, Eaton Rapids and Potterville — also have their own full-time police forces.

But other outlying municipalities — like Olivet and Bellevue — have part-time units that rely on other departments to supplement them, Whittum said. At night, those areas have two ECSO deputies on road patrol, Morris said.

Eaton County receives assistance from Michigan State Police throughout the day. Morris said MSP normally assigns at least one trooper to support Eaton County for all shifts, but he is not sure whether MSP would be able to meet the coverage gaps spurred by further departures.

MSP's Lansing post covers three counties: Ingham, Eaton and Clinton.

"MSP Lansing Post provides full service law enforcement and public safety services in Eaton County every day," Michigan State Police Lt. Brian Oleksyk said.

Reich said his job is to make sure Eaton County citizens are protected by law enforcement, and he does not want to reduce road patrol.

“We’re gonna have more vacancies,” he said. “I don’t know if I’m going to have enough (deputies) out there to cover all the shifts."

Contact reporter Jared Weber at 517-582-3937 or jtweber@lsj.com.

This article originally appeared on Lansing State Journal: Eaton County reconsidering $10,000 bonuses for sheriff's deputies