Law enforcement is not immune from the high inflation that has gripped the country in recent years. Many agencies have had to increase what they pay to keep and attract officers.
Those moves could have an impact on the Morgan County Sheriff’s Office.
“It’s a huge concern,” Morgan County Sheriff Wayne Potter said.
Potter said the starting pay for deputies is $17 an hour and $15 an hour for jailers. Some restaurants and department stores pay more than that.
The county is in the midst of putting together a budget for the upcoming fiscal year, and Potter is planning to seek higher pay for members of his office.
“We are waiting to find out what the penny is worth and we’re going to meet with County Commission,” Potter said. “There’s really no way to determine what the number is. We’re looking at percentage probably, and a lot of that has to do with what the penny is worth.”
Each penny of property tax generates a specific amount of money for counties. The value of the penny for Morgan County for the current fiscal year is $32,821. The new fiscal year starts on July 1.
The starting salary for corrections officers at the state prison is $44,520 along with a $5,000 sign-on bonus.
“It’s a huge concern because we’ve been battling the prison for the last year,” Potter said. “The prison starts out at a $24 or $25 dollar an hour salary and we’re coming in at $15 and $17. It’s a big difference, a big, big difference.”
It’s not just the prison pay that Potter has to worry about now. Nearby Roane County recently raised the starting salary for patrol deputies to $51,000 a year and $49,500 a year for jailers.
“Absolutely it’s going to have an impact on my department,” Potter said. “I definitely won’t get there with my guys, but it’s definitely going to have an impact.”
To get to $51,000 in Morgan County, a deputy would need more than 20 years of service under the current salary scale.
“We’re going to lose people to Roane County,” Potter predicted.
The sheriff’s office has approximately 75 employees. Potter said he’s definitely going to ask for something, even though the amount of the increase he plans to request might be unknown at the moment.
“The good thing about it is we have a good county executive,” Potter said. “We work really close together and the County Commission is very understanding. They’re going to give us everything that they can.”
