Wash. County Sheriff hopes pay raises recruit new officers and keep current ones employed

Law enforcement officers with the Washington County Sheriff's Office will start seeing larger paychecks, with the raises made retroactive to the summer of 2020.

The Washington County commissioners unanimously approved the new pay rates, which Sheriff Doug Mullendore presented Tuesday. The commissioners also made the raises retroactive to July 2020.

The plan includes double-digit percentage raises, according to information Mullendore presented Tuesday.

It was the third time since August that Mullendore and the commissioners have discussed salary concerns.

\'A very stressful job\'

The sheriff has said his department has trouble hiring and keeping officers because other communities offer higher salaries.

According to Mullendore, the problem is exacerbated by new legislation that is aimed at police reform and has put a sharper spotlight on police officers and their actions.

"I should point out that since the last time I appeared before you on Nov. 2, we've lost two sworn (patrol) deputies, and we've lost several correctional deputies as well," Mullendore told the commissioners. "Again, getting out of law enforcement altogether to go into private industry based on legislative issues and what's going on around the country.

"It's a very stressful job right now. The pendulum will swing at some point. But I think it's going to be a number of years before that actually happens."

In November, Mullendore said his office was at approximately 15% vacancies in positions for officers who work on patrol and in the jail. That shortage "has severely hampered operations," he said.

That month, he recommended a salary schedule that raised the base pay for a patrol deputy from $45,053 to $48,589. The plan included raises for other officers, ranging from around $1,300 to three that were more than $10,000 in an effort to address pay disparities that have evolved over the years.

Mullendore said a flat, across-the-board increase would not solve those disparities. He proposed a complete overhaul of the salary schedule.

The commissioners encouraged him to continue working on that plan.

"I think what you're hearing is, in some cases (for some positions), it's not enough money," Commissioner Randy Wagner told Mullendore at the time.

\'Come back to us\'

On Tuesday, Mullendore presented updated salary schedules for the entire department.

For example, the base salary for a patrol officer, which had been $45,053 per year, would rise to $52,000. At the top end of the pay scale, for a colonel with at least 20 years of experience, the salary would be $182,165.

The plan also includes reworked procedures for advancing deputies from an entry-level slot to the rank of deputy first class and then to the new rank of master deputy, with salary increases along the way.

For example, a patrol deputy with three years of experience would get a salary of $54,633. A deputy first class with three years of experience would receive $63,139. A master deputy with three years of experience would be paid $71,189.

According to documents Mullendore presented, the total annual cost of the salary proposal is $3.8 million, which includes salaries, benefits, shift differential and overtime pay.

The cost projection for Fiscal Year 2022 is lower than the total cost, however. First, the  pension amount already is set for FY22, and it will not change. Second, the projection assumes that not all of the deputies will make the rank of master deputy immediately.

Taking those factors into account, the cost projection and budget adjustment for FY22 will be about $2.8 million.

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All five of the commissioners spoke in favor of the raises and praised the work of the officers in the department.

They also said they would be willing to take another look at the salaries if mistakes or further disparities are found.

"I've told our personnel if they still have issues with disparity, to come back to us. We will look at that and try to correct that," Mullendore said.

Mike Lewis covers business, the economy and other issues. Follow Mike on Twitter at MiLewis.

This article originally appeared on The Herald-Mail: Washington county commissioners, sheriff increase officers' salaries