[July 22, 2011] Sheriff wants raises for all Tweet Jul 22, 2011 (Jackson County Floridan - McClatchy-Tribune Information Services via COMTEX) -- Jackson County Sheriff Lou Roberts wants to buy 12 new vehicles, hire two more dispatchers, and give his 10 existing communications officers and other employees a raise. He wants to buy three new dispatch consoles to bring communications on line with new technology, as well. He also notified the county that he will need to keep some money he normally gives back to the county at the end of each fiscal year. Roberts presented his proposed budget to the Jackson County Commission Thursday. The commission is still working its way through the whole budget and took no immediate action on his requests. Roberts wants dispatcher salaries to start at $21,000, rather than the current $19,800. According to Roberts, his communications officers are among the lowest paid in the state. To attract and keep qualified people for this critical duty, he said he needs to raise their pay. He also wants to hire two more dispatchers so there are more people on duty in emergencies; typically, only two are working on a given shift. When threatening weather, wrecks, and other emergencies start happening all at once, Roberts said it can become chaotic with only two people to handle incoming calls, make all the outgoing calls and keep the necessary information flowing smoothly and quickly. He estimated that dispatchers will handle more than 7,000 calls this year. Roberts has also asked for a 5.5 percent salary increase for all his workers. County commissioners anticipate a 3 percent increase for all county personnel, although they have not made that official. It would cost the county an additional $79,215 to give sheriff's office employees a 5.5 percent increase rather than 3 percent. The board also heard that Roberts needs to buy three new dispatch consoles, at a cost of $16,000 each, for a total of $48,000. The estimated costs of the vehicles he wants to buy, fully equipped with law enforcement elements, would come to about $344,400. He is considering cars or Tahoe SUVs, however, and the estimates may change as a decision is made. Roberts also explained why he will not be able to make his annual reimbursement to the county for the salaries and benefits paid to four drug task force employees. Ever since the task force was established 16 years ago, their pay has been covered by a federal program. But changes in the rules governing the use of the Federal Equitable Sharing Program will now make that impossible. Their combined salaries and benefits come to $181,794. Roberts said it would mostly be "a wash" that would require no additional money dedicated to the sheriff's office budget. This is because he adds the four salaries and benefits to the county's budget each year, and then reimburses the county at the end of the year once he gets the federal funds. In the coming year, he'll have to keep the federal funds and use them for other things. In addition, another grant associated with the task force has been reduced. Instead of getting roughly $57,500 for the unit's operating expenses, the sheriff's office will get $45,000. To show the benefit of the drug task force, Roberts presented statistics on the unit's activities over the past two years. He said his task force members and their partners from other agencies have made 206 arrests, along with obtaining 17 warrants, seizing 89 pounds of processed marijuana and 202 living plants, collecting 17 pounds of methamphetamine and similar drugs, and carrying out 27 federal seizures. His total budget request came slightly less than $4.9 million, after raises were adjusted down to 3 percent. To see more of the Jackson County Floridan or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to http://www.jcfloridan.com. Copyright (c) 2011, Jackson County Floridan, Marianna, Fla. Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services. For more information about the content services offered by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services (MCT), visit www.mctinfoservices.com. [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ]