Miami County gives deputies raises to try to retain staff

Credit: TRALOW IMAGERY

Credit: TRALOW IMAGERY

TROY – A new three-year contract between Miami County and its sheriff’s deputies includes salary increases designed to keep employees from leaving for higher paying agencies after the county invests in their training.

The agreement approved last week by the county commissioners includes a 3% wage increase each year, with a one time $2 per hour wage increase that begins in 2022. The pay scale for these positions will be between $59,000 and $72,000 in 2022 with the increases.

The contract with deputies was scheduled to expire at the end of 2022 but was renewed a year early in order to implement these changes.

The commissioners said the county has lost trained deputies over the years to higher paying agencies.

“If the market is dictating those types of wages, we clearly had to make some inroads to be able to compete and retain good employees. The training and experience deputies gain over several years is invaluable, and to lose all of that to other agencies is costly to the county,” Sheriff Dave Duchak said.

The department this year has lost eight deputies. Six deputies indicated on exit interviews they were going to a higher paying department, one retired and one left law enforcement to pursue other interests.

“We are grateful that the Fraternal Order of Police and the sheriff’s office came to an agreement. This was an agreement that was ahead of schedule, which speaks highly of the trust and camaraderie that exists throughout the sheriff’s department,” Commission President Greg Simmons said.

Negotiations will begin next year with the department’s correction officers. Correction officers also are lost to other law enforcement agencies because many have a goal to become a deputy or other officer in law enforcement, Duchak said.

Because the correction officers work 12 hour shifts, they cannot attend a law enforcement officer academy. An agreement signed last year with the correction officers’ union that creates one eight-hour shift in spring and fall, allowing two officers to attend the academy per year. The hope is the department can retain those employees as deputies when there are openings, Duchak said.

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