Sheriff gives raises to retain employees

CELINA - Mercer County Sheriff Jeff Grey said he's enacted a late
-year pay raise of varying percentages to turn the tide of personnel leaving the office for higher-paying jobs.

"The idea behind the pay raise is trying to get people to quit leaving for more money," Grey said.

Furthermore, Grey said he's drafting a three-year plan to present to county commissioners that would address what he believes is a glaring wage disparity between his office and nearby sheriff's offices. To attract and retain top talent, the county must offer more competitive wages, he asserts.

"On the law enforcement side I can't just hire anybody. To work in enforcement you have to have a peace officer's certificate. There aren't people in Mercer County that have a peace officer's certificate that aren't employed," Grey said.

Elected officials have discretion to grant raises but can't spend over the sum appropriated annually by commissioners, Grey pointed out. However, Grey said he has extra money in payroll because his office lost five deputies this year to area police departments and employers outside law enforcement. The deputies chiefly cited compensation as the reason for their departure, Grey said.

He plans to spend that money on pay raises ranging from 2.91% to 11.55% for deputies, correction officers, sergeants, dispatchers, nurses, cooks, custodians and information technology personnel.

"I can't lose any more people," he said.

The raises took effect Nov. 17. Prior to the increases, Grey said his office's top wages were $5.58 less per hour than Auglaize County's, $3.58 less per hour than Darke County's and $5.55 less than Shelby County's.

Now, the office's top wages are $3.89 less per hour than Auglaize County's, $1.89 less per hour than Darke County's and $3.86 less per hour than Shelby County's.

Over the last decade, sheriff's office personnel saw an average yearly pay increase of 1.7%, Grey said.

Grey, who is reviewing the results of a recent wage study conducted by an outside firm, intends to ask commissioners for pay raises as high as $1.80 per hour each of the next three years to bring wages closer in line with nearby agencies'.

"I've got to get people, and I've got to be able to keep them and to do that, I've got to be competitive with the wages," he said.

To help soften the blow, Grey said he gutted requests for four vehicles from his proposed 2020 budget. That would free up as much as $170,000, he said.

"The commissioners have been good to us, and our vehicle fleet is in decent shape so we're not asking for cars next year. Now, I can only get by with that for one year," Grey said.