Richmond County to give deputies pay hike as staff shortages surpass 100 open positions

Jozsef Papp, Augusta Chronicle
·6 min read

A new retention plan being implemented by the Richmond County Sheriff’s Office will increase pay for deputies and bring it up to par with other agencies in the area, as the agency tries to deal with staff shortages.

The $3.2 million plan was approved as part of the Augusta Administrator Fiscal Year 2022 Budget, and it includes raises for every position. Chief Deputy Patrick Clayton said the hope is that this will not be the last time pay is increased for deputies.

“When we call it a retention plan, we are looking at this as the first installment on trying to professionalize and make our agency the best it can be,” he said. “What we are doing is we are bringing our pay in parity to Columbia County Sheriff’s Office.”

This is not the first time Richmond County law enforcement officers have fallen behind in pay in other regional counties. In 2014, deputy pay jumped because the department struggled to fill positions. Then, in late 2017, the sheriff's office argued for significant salary hikes to keep up with surrounding counties, according to The Augusta Chronicle. The county did budget for modest salary increases at that time.

Clayton said they see the pay increase more as compensation than raises, a way to reward current and future deputies for the work they do on a daily basis. The sheriff’s office is the largest full-service sheriff’s office in Georgia.

"If you look at the region here, and I’ve said this on multiple occasions, our deputies do two to three times more work, they take two to three times more risk than the other agencies in this region,” Clayton said. “They should be the highest paid agency. It shouldn’t be that we have the other agencies that are making more than Richmond County Sheriff deputies.”

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There were four times more burglaries in Richmond County in 2020 compared to Columbia County. The number of homicides between the two counties is also widely different with Richmond County having 33 homicides in 2021 and 41 in 2020, compared to Columbia County only having four in 2020 and five in 2020.

The population between the two counties also contributes to the amount of crime. According to Census data, Richmond County has 206,607 people, while Columbia County has 156,010 people.

Comparing salaries to other agencies

The new retention plan should kick in following the first pay period in January, Clayton said. Compared to the previous starting salaries, the $3.2 million plan has increased salaries for three positions – deputy jailer, senior deputy jailer and master deputy jailer – by around 16%, while three other positions – Georgia P.O.S.T. certified officer, senior deputy and master deputy – saw an increase between 8 to 10% in salary.

In Richmond County, the new annual starting salaries for law enforcement positions are as follows:

  • Deputy Jailer – $40,699.66 - increases to $42,734.64 after completion of the basic jailer course

  • Senior Deputy Jailer – 5 years - $44,871.37

  • Master Deputy Jailer – 10 years - $47,114.94

  • Georgia P.O.S.T. Certified Officer – $43,597.75 - increases to $45,891.09 after two years of consecutive service

  • Senior Deputy – 5 years - $48,185.64

  • Master Deputy – 10 years - $50,594.93

In Columbia County, the current annual starting salaries are as follows:

  • Deputy Jailer – $41,880.28

  • Patrol Deputies – $44,429.32

  • Special Operations Deputies and Criminal Investigation Deputies – $44,429.32

In Burke County, salaries increased by 2.4% compared to last year. A certified deputy sheriff now makes from $38,604.8 to $42,700.80.

Clayton said it’s normal for law enforcement agencies to only raise the salaries of entry-level positions but the sheriff and Clayton felt it was important to make sure those who have been working hard over the past decade are also compensated adequately.

“This pay package, instead of just raising the beginning deputies, we raised everybody’s pay to match and bring us more in parity with Columbia County, which was kind of the target. We believe this will help to improve morale,” Clayton said.

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Staff shortages continue to increase

Back in August, Clayton told The Augusta Chronicle the sheriff’s office had about 90 open positions. As of January, that number has increased to around 130. The average is usually 40 to 60 open positions.

Clayton said they hope the pay increase will help in keeping deputies at the sheriff’s office, but realistically speaking a lot of deputies that are leaving are not leaving just because of money.

“I’m getting deputies now that are saying, ‘Chief, it used to be I just worried about getting shot, now I’m worried that if I make a stupid mistake, I will end up getting put in prison, get arrested’,” Clayton said. “(The raise is) definitely going to have a positive effect, but I’m trying to temper my expectations.”

The shortage is not limited to Richmond County.

Columbia County Maj. Steve Morris said the sheriff’s office currently has 33 open positions out of 356 total positions. Clayton, who talks to other agencies about the shortage, said Macon-Bibb County is down 130 deputies, while the Columbus Police Department and Muscogee County Sheriff’s Office combined are down 240 positions.

Clayton said the jail is struggling the most with the shortage. In general, deputies start out at the jail, before going to the police academy and joining road patrol. Now, they are having to place some deputies back on jail duty to help mitigate the shortage.

“We are always having to try keep the balance between CID, road patrol and the jail and we’ve gotten off balance in the jail,” he said. “We are having to return them to the jail.”

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The sheriff's office recently added another person on staff to concentrate on recruiting and trying to get the best candidates into the agency. Clayton said they’ve also met with national veteran organizations to recruit discharged service members to join the agency. However, current employees seem to be the best recruiters.

“Our deputies have turned out to be probably the best recruiters that we’ve got because usually when they know somebody, vouch for them and encourage them to apply, it usually turns out to be good applicants,” Clayton said.

Clayton said they are glad the commission has agreed to increase deputy salaries but warned that it shouldn’t be a one-time increase. The sheriff and Clayton plan to continue to push for more increases in the future.

“I hope (the commission) understands this is an installment in continuing to professionalize this agency. You can’t let us turn into the lowest pay agency in the region,” he said. “We are going to continue to ask (the commission) to invest in their law enforcement agency.”

This article originally appeared on Augusta Chronicle: Salaries increase for Richmond County deputy, as staff shortage pass 100 open positions