Morgan County Council approves special duty pay for sheriff's deputies

Morgan County Sheriff Rich Myers asked the Morgan County Council Monday night to approve special duty incentive pay for deputies who do work outside of their normal duties.

Deputies who are on special teams, such as Special Weapons and Tactics, certified K-9 handlers, Correctional Emergency Response Team, Critical Incident Stress Management, or a certified field training member will receive an additional $3,000 per year. The money will be paid over the calendar year and works out to an additional $1.44 per hour on an officer's base salary. The council approved the request.

In other business, the council approved an additional $25,000 for the commissioners for training new employees.

They approved an additional $13,294 for repair of a section of road near the intersection of Graveyard Road and Smith Lane. That section was damaged by a vehicle and the money comes from an insurance settlement.

Myers asked the council to approve a new matron position at the jail. The current matron is planning to retire at the end of March. The sheriff said they want the new person to work with the current matron to learn the job. The request did not involve any additional funding and was approved.

Chris Mills, chief of the Monroe Township Fire Department, asked the council for funds from the American Rescue Plan Act to help pay for new turnout gear for the department. The cost of the new gear is more than $70,000. Council members told Mills he needed to meet with the committee which is working on a plan to use the ARPA funds.

The next scheduled council meeting is April 3 at 6:30 p.m. at the county administration building.

This article originally appeared on The Reporter Times: Morgan County Council approves special duty pay for sheriff's deputies