Sheriff requests 10 pct raises in FY 2023 budget

Sheriff Travis Babcock asked Young County Commissioners to raise pay levels by 10 percent for his department’s employees, including the county jail, and to hike pay for some supervisors even higher in his Aug. 15 budget presentation for fiscal year 2023.

The sheriff also requested budget increases for fuel, food service for the jail, ammunition, and more cameras for the jail, adding that the 13-year-old jail had just passed a state inspection but still needed some repairs and upgrades.

He first presented the jail budget, saying that he had left his overtime budget the same as in fiscal year 2022, in hopes that the proposed pay increase would translate to better jailer retention to curb asking employees to work overtime. The jail also hired a couple of recent sheriff ’s department employees to work part-time transporting inmates to cut down on overtime, he said.

“I did ask for a 10 percent increase in pay all the way across the board. There were a couple of people I raised up more than 10 percent so their salaries would reflect their job status,” he told the commissioners. “I hope to come up with a way to keep (jail employees) around a little longer. This year I couldn’t find anyone to work.”

He said he recently hired three new jail employees, one of whom “quit before they walked in the door, and the other two quit the first day.”

The sheriff asked for a raise for Dispatch Supervisor Karen Sternadel “to a supervisor’s level instead of a jailer level,” noting that dispatchers also had been asked to work extra overtime this year, as the number of 911 and other calls to the department has increased each of the past three years.

Sheriff Babcock said after the meeting that although sheriff ’s department wages “are pretty close” to Jack and Stephens counties, the double-digit raises are needed to prevent hardship among county law enforcement.

“You have an 8.5 percent increase in inflation, 10 percent a month ago. And we have to base what we pay our employees on the cost of living,” he said. “They have to be able to support their families and themselves too.”

He asked that the line item for ammunition be increased to allow the sheriff ’s department to purchase appropriate shells for its new shotguns. “Last year’s ammo budget we depleted,” he said. “We need more for next year.”

The department also is looking to purchase eight new computers and in-car cameras for sheriff ’s vehicles and a similar number of body-worn cameras, the sheriff said.

“I really appreciate what the Commissioners and the County have done for the Sheriff ’s Office since I have been the Sheriff,” he said. “I realize the job they have and how hard it is.”