FAYETTE COUNTY SHERIFF PROPOSING SALARY INCREASES AT BUDGET MEETINGS

  

The Fayette County Commissioners Court have begun planning the budget for the next fiscal year.

While he couldn’t guarantee that the departments would get everything they want, County Judge Joe Weber encouraged them to let the commissioners see what they wanted.

At a recent workshop, Fayette County Sheriff Keith Korenek proposed a budget including raises for deputies, jailers, and dispatchers.

For entry level deputies, the proposal would raise the base pay from $41,509 a year to $45,000 per year, which is an 8% increase. For the more experienced deputies, their pay would go from $47,710 to $60,000, or a 25.8% increase.  The highest ranking officers would get bumped up to $70,000-$80,000, which would be an increase of 31.1 to 36.2 percent.

Entry level jailers would see their pay go up 12% from $35,700 to $40,000. Meanwhile, the highest ranking jailers would go from $38,368 to $50,000, which is a 43.3% increase.

Also under the proposal, entry level 9-1-1 dispatchers would go from $36,256 to $40,000, or a 10.3% increase.  The most experienced dispatchers would go from $39,985 to $55,000, which is a 37.5% increase.

Korenek told the commissioners that they are seeking the raises in order to attract and retain quality personnel. Chief Deputy Randy Noviskie said that the jail and the dispatch center are currently understaffed by two employees each.

Korenek presented the commissioners with a survey of the starting pay at the Fayette County Sheriff’s Office and the six surrounding counties, and Fayette County was the lowest of the seven.

The commissioners did ask questions about the figures that Korenek presented, but no action was taken at the meeting.