ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1997, Roanoke Times
DATE: Wednesday, April 2, 1997 TAG: 9704020032
SECTION: CURRENT PAGE: NRV-1 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
DATELINE: CHRISTIANSBURG
SOURCE: KATHY LOAN THE ROANOKE TIMES
Montgomery County wants to pay sheriff's deputies more money, but thinks it is the state that ought to be providing it.
Montgomery County's sheriff's deputies should make more money, but the Board of Supervisors isn't sure it should be the one to pay.
Sheriff Doug Marrs had asked the county to consider supplementing the salaries of 75 deputies and eight dispatchers by $2,500 a year. The county board talked over the proposal Monday night without resolution as it nears completion of the 1997-98 budget.
A starting deputy makes $20,430 a year compared with $23,401 for a rookie state trooper. Five years later, the trooper is making almost $28,000 a year while the deputy is at $20,890. County dispatchers' pay starts at $15,983. Salaries for sheriff's employees are set by the state Compensation Board, though some local governments supplement the pay.
The low pay, along with morale problems and much better pay in nearby departments, contributed to a nearly 24 percent turnover rate last year in the Montgomery Sheriff's Office.
If the Montgomery supervisors provided the supplement, it would cost $244,123. Some supervisors and county staff didn't like the precedent the county could set by paying the supplement, but Supervisor Nick Rush continued his effort to get the money.
"I still think this county needs to somehow supplement these deputies' and dispatchers' pay. I think the state has been lacking," Rush said.
He received lukewarm reactions or less from other board members.
Supervisor Ira Long said other employees of constitutional officers - such as the workers in the commissioner of revenue and the treasurer's offices - had asked for supplements in the past and had been turned down.
Rush replied that the jobs were much different.
"I think if you're working in an atmosphere where you can be shot or killed late at night is very different than an office environment. If we can't do the whole $2,500, I'd like to see us do something. ... These jobs are very important and they can sometimes be dangerous," Rush said.
Supervisor Henry Jablonski agreed with Rush that "the job does not pay enough for the risk involved." But he said he also saw Long's point. "Once you begin supplementing, you'll never be able to take it back and the state then has no incentive" to raise the salaries.
Jablonski said they should write the Compensation Board and local legislators, "and tell them we don't think we're getting a fair shake, that they're not paying them enough for what's involved."
County Administrator Jeff Johnson gave the supervisors several options, including establishing a county police department such as exists in Roanoke County. He also said that if constitutional officers would agree to come into the county's payroll system, there would be more uniformity in pay.
"It's been 10 years since we talked about a police department," Jablonski said. "When things are working well, I'm hesitant to want to change it."
A Sheriff's Office would still exist, but would provide services only related to the jail, civil process and courtroom security.
In addition to the pay raises, Marrs is asking for a new retirement benefit for deputies that several other departments already have. The supplement allows early retirement at age 50 with 20 years of service. The option, offered through the Virginia Retirement System, is only for law enforcement officers and firefighters, yet its costs would be spread across all county departments.
The county staff has recommended that the supervisors adopt a resolution to begin providing the retirement benefit in the 1999 budget year.
The staff has also recommended that the supervisors consider an increase in the E-911 tax. This could be used for on-going operating costs that could include a portion of dispatcher salaries. The county charges each telephone customer 35 cents a month to help defray the cost of E-911. That's the lowest rate in the New River Valley.
The Board of Supervisors will have its fifth budget work session at 7 tonight on the third floor of the Montgomery County Courthouse. The supervisors must adopt a tax rate by April 11.
For information on other budget discussion, see today's Public Pulse, Page 2.
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