Wage increase debated at Carter Fiscal
Aug. 15—GRAYSON — The gallery at Monday's Carter County Fiscal Court meeting was full of correctional officers, urging the court to consider a raise for an overworked and underpaid position — prompting a snowball effect of other departments requesting the same.
Carter County Jailer R.W. Boggs led the charge, requesting the court utilize $200,000 of the jail's general fund to pad a $15-per-hour starting point and a $2 raise for deputy jailers.
Boggs said the jail recently collected $350,000 in revenue from a contract that allows the Carter County Jail to house and transport federal inmates in exchange for funding.
The county jail, according to Boggs, is the cheapest ran in the state, causing them to rely heavily on the funds gained from the outside contracted services.
Of the roughly 30 people currently employed at the jail, Boggs said those working three years are currently making less now than the $15/hour requested.
Carter County Judge-Executive Brandon Burton briefly interjected, "We've made some significant wage increases. We've tried to help."
"I'm not saying you ain't done nothing," Boggs said. "Our hand is being forced. They all have an employable skill. Anyone in this room can leave and go anywhere else and make more."
Boggs said compared to neighboring counties, jails start their staff out at $16-18 and hour, still more than the requested bump.
"If I wanted to pay them based on experience," Boggs said, referencing an employee of 20-plus years, "nothing but correctional work, if I paid him comparable to what another jail would for a chief deputy position, you'd have a stroke (because) $32 an hour is what he should get."
Boggs predicted if a wage increase didn't happen, he could lose roughly 33% of his trained staff.
"We make a decision to invest in what we find valuable. We've done it before. We've done it with the sheriff's department, road department. I need my good people, you need my good people.
"If I lose 33% of the knowledge I have in there, I mean we're behind an 8-ball and there's no reason for it," Boggs said.
Boggs reiterated that with the additional revenue brought in through contracts, his request could easily be afforded by the county.
"I've seen financial hardships in this county. I know we're not the richest county by any stretch of the imagination, I get that. But I'm also a business person, a math person; I don't ask for something we can't afford," Boggs said.
Boggs said he had ran the numbers by County Treasurer Beth Justice, who, according to Boggs, said the ask was doable, reiterating that his request totaled roughly $200,000 — $150,000 less than the jail brought in.
Boggs continued to outline his plan, announcing the No. 1 task is determining if the county was willing and if it was affordable. According to Boggs, again, it had already been discussed with Justice, who approved Boggs plan of $15 being the starting point, a $2 pay bump for existing jailers, a $3 increase for roughly seven sergeants and lieutenants and $4 for his sole chief deputy.
"Say we done that," Magistrate Millard Cordle asked. "We'd have to do the road department and everybody else the same way to keep everything fair." The remarked caused overlapping chatter from the gallery.
At some point, the topic of overtime came up. Boggs reassured while it may seem like a lot, it stems from the transport and watch of federal inmates which is then reimbursed by the government.
"Right now you're paying them $13-15 an hour, but with federal overtime, the county is getting paid back $37.50 on it," causing more feedback from attendees.
"I'd trade $5 for $10 any day of the week," Boggs said.
"I've been around long enough; we wanna talk fairness and do for one, do for the other, fairness is sometimes you gotta do what you gotta do for the right, for the department. ... It's time," Boggs added.
"(Carter Co. Sheriff) Jeff (May) needed help and we gave him a raise. He was losing everybody he had," Boggs said.
According to Burton, the fiscal court previously awarded the sheriff's department $600,000 of the occupational tax and $600,000 came from the jail's general fund to operate the jail.
Burton said the fiscal court had done its frugal part, saying it recently moved a road department to solid waste, freeing up about $40,000 and had yet to hire for two road department positions after two workers are set to retire.
"I've cut my staff in the office down from one instead of two. We've cut my office ... " Burton started, before Boggs interrupted, reminding Burton he couldn't cut inside the jail.
"Most departments are coming in wanting more and I feel like I've cut my departments down as much as I can to keep watching to make sure that I'm OK with what we're wanting to do. ... Every department comes in and wants more and more," Burton said.
Boggs said, based on statutes, the county is required to man the jail with a certain amount of employees — differentiating them from other county departments.
"Statutorily, you're not required to put an ounce of asphalt or one gravel on the road, but ... you have to run that jail and right now it's as cheaply done as it can possibly be," Boggs said.
According to Burton, it's also statute that he produce the numbers of expenditures in the county: "It's not like you're asking us for bedsheets down there. You're asking us for $200,000."
Cordle recommended an executive session occur immediately to discuss a wage increase before others pumped the brakes, as the court isn't legally allowed to discuss wages in executive session.
Cordle then asked Boggs what would happen if the county somehow lost the federal contracts and accompanying money.
"If we lost all our federal prisoners, it's not just a problem of the jail; it's the problem of the entire county," Boggs said.
"That's what we've got to think about is the entire county. We've got to think about all the county," Magistrate Harley Rayburn said, adding he wasn't opposed to the raise, though.
Following additional volleys from Burton to Boggs and vice versa, Cordle spoke up again and said while everyone from the court's end had voiced support for a raise, nobody had yet to put "no teeth into what they're saying."
Cordle put a motion on the floor, asking for a work meeting to look into approving the raises for the jail.
Magistrate Derrick McKinney, who remained rather silent through the chatter, posed a question before the court made any vote on the motion.
"They've got $350,000, they're only asking for $200,000," McKinney said, wondering why the court couldn't just vote on the seemingly simple proposal right then, which received an applause by the deputies.
"What we've got to look at though, the minute we do, all other departments will want it. ... We have to plan for that, too," Magistrate Chris Huddle responded.
The court eventually decided on a work meeting for next Monday, Aug. 21, at 4:30 to discuss the numbers and possible breakdown of a wage increase, before Huddle again reminded that other departments would request a raise, too, and the remaining $150,000 of Boggs's plan wouldn't cover it.
Boggs said the people that might come to complain are already making $18-$20/hour and for the court to tell them "by God, this is the way it is. ... You wanna say fair is fair, we're still not gonna be up or past any of these other departments."
After the closing of public comment and the departure of more than half of the gallery, Burton turned the meeting to department reports, bringing Huddle's apprehension into fruition.
E-911 Director Joseph Lambert said he'd be the first to "start the snowball effect."
Lambert said he knew what would happen to his department if the jail's starting wage was increased, when his people started at $13 an hour, too.
According Lambert, if his employees want an additional $1.50, they had to spend five weeks away from family to become a certified dispatcher, adding it'd be an "injustice" to his employees not to request the court consider his department in the work meeting as well.
Lambert added he overheard some of the chatter from jail employees earlier in the meeting, pointing out an inaccuracy when some said the jail was one of the only county departments that require 24/7 difficult coverage.
"My employees do have a special skill set. They had a call yesterday (Sunday), I know I've got some employees that's having problems with it and they're going to have problems with it. They talk to some people on the phone and that's the last people that they talk to. We have tough times over at the 911 center," Lambert said.
(606) 326-2652 — mjepling@dailyindependent.com
