Yesterday on local news, we reported on a heated discussion between Russell County Sheriff Derek Polston and Magistrate Mickey Garner at Monday’s fiscal court meeting after Garner questioned Polston about recent raises provided to deputies and sheriff’s office staff.
Those raises were $5/hour for deputies and sheriff’s office staff.
The cost of the raises comes out to a little over $114,000 annually to the sheriff’s office budget. The cost of the raises also includes an additional nearly $8,700 increase for the county in social security and around $21,000 annually in retirement costs. That equals a little over $30,000 annually in additional costs to the fiscal court.
If the county were to incur the cost of hazardous duty retirement, that extra cost to the county would come in at around $42,500.
Polston told the fiscal court on Monday that pay increases are necessary to attract and retain employees.
Polston told the fiscal court other nearby counties, namely Adair County and Taylor County, have been offering higher salaries for deputies, which led to the decision to provide the raises.
It was mentioned in the meeting Adair County is reportedly offering pay in the area of $25 or $26 an hour, and Taylor County is paying around $28 an hour.