The Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office continues to rank toward the bottom in pay for deputies in the metro area and this year is on pace to lose more deputies than the past two years combined.
In a presentation to the Jefferson County Board of Commissioners on Oct. 20, representatives from the office requested additional funds for 2015 and also hired an independent group to conduct an internal survey of the deputies on why so many are moving on.
“What was recommended was not necessarily what we agreed with,” Sheriff Ted Mink said. “We wanted to go in and express our concerns over what was recommended and what we want and think we need.”
The department is on pace to lose 85 deputies this year and 30 employees in civilian jobs. By comparison, the sheriff’s office lost 47 deputies in 2013 and 36 in 2012. The civilian losses have remained fairly stagnant.
According to the preliminary results of the survey — which was done by the local firm the Loyalty Group — the pay rate and uncertainty of raises going forward was a main reason for the turnover.
Jefferson County Sheriff’s deputies ranked No. 16 among metro area departments for the maximum salary paid by the department. The top salary at the sheriff’s office is listed at $68,709. The No. 15-ranked Adams County Sheriff’s Office’s top salary came in at $72,081. Lakewood police comes in at No. 1 with a top salary of $78,499. Last year, about 45 percent of deputies received raises, with deputies at the top step not receiving any increase. There were no raises in 2013 and all deputies received a 2 percent raise in 2012, but that was when the county cut retirement contributions by 1 percent.
The final results of the survey will be ready in the next few weeks and will be given to the commissioners to view before they finalize the budget in December.
“I don’t think right now we have a clear answer,” Commissioner Casey Tighe said.
Tighe said the results were on par with what the board had been hearing about the troubles at the office. The sheriff’s office also would like to institute a plan to help give deputies a better idea of what they can expect going forward. Tighe said he supports doing something like that.
“We can’t bind future boards, but we have to articulate to departments a sort of plan,” he said.
Division chief Jeff Shrader reiterated the need for a pay plan to help reduce the loss in deputies with six-to-10 years of experience. Shrader said that the 10-year mark is when the office tends to break even on the investment in a deputy’s training.
“It’s unfortunate we are losing people in that 6-10 year range,” Shrader said. “Our hope is to reverse that trend and make sure we can administer a pay plan.”
To deal with the attrition, the sheriff’s office has started two academies this year and hired 24 from the first class. There are 22 in the second class, currently in session. In addition, the traffic team has been suspended and school resource officers are often being called away to respond to other incidents.
The county administrator’s proposed 2015 budget had $93,296,494 earmarked for the sheriff’s office, up from .
“For me, we need to make sure we provide the highest and best service to residents,” Commissioner Don Rosier said.
Joe Vaccarelli: 303-954-2396, jvaccarelli@denverpost.com or
