For more than 40 years, the Bartholomew County Sheriff’s Department has sought pay parity with counterparts on the Columbus Police Department and the Indiana State Police.
But it now appears that such a long-sought goal is about to be achieved.
In a nonbinding consensus, all seven members of the Bartholomew County Council expressed their approval Thursday to a revised salary proposal for deputies and staff on the sheriff’s department.
Sheriff Matt Myers is now asking for $344,004 in wages and overtime in its 2019 budget, a 15 percent reduction from what he had requested three days earlier.
[sc:text-divider text-divider-title=”Story continues below gallery” ]
Although Myers reduced his request for raises by $2,000 to $3,000 per merit deputy with at least 10 years of experience, the revisions still provide parity with neighboring law enforcement agencies, said Mark Gorbett, the county council president who served two terms as sheriff before Myers was elected in 2014.
“This is a big deal,” Myers said. “It’s the biggest accomplishment we’ve had in my four years as sheriff.”
Myers lauded efforts Gorbett had put into reaching pay parity while sheriff from 2007 to 2014, as well as while on the county council since 2015.
Pay details
The sheriff is requesting $4,276,429 next year for sheriff’s department operations, a 13.5 percent increase. That is lower than the 16 percent increase the sheriff originally requested Aug. 20, which does not include costs of running the jail.
The 2019 pay scale ranges from a base pay of $51,719 for a new patrol officer to $90,711 for a major with at least 10 years experience, according to a salary matrix Myers prepared for the council.
Under the plan, sergeants will earn 15 percent more than a patrol officer, while lieutenants will make 23 percent more. For captains, it’s a 30 percent increase, and for majors the proposed salary is 38 percent higher than what a patrol officer would make.
However, variations will remain in regard to factors such as assigned shifts and specialized training.
But in contrast with the original request made Aug. 20, Myers is no longer seeking $14,000 in emergency services pay for exempt lieutenants. That had been earmarked as additional for working scheduled off-hours during unanticipated circumstances.
While city police officers with military and college experience will maintain minor pay advantages, Gorbett said enough parity has been achieved for the sheriff’s department to attract and retain high-quality employees.
For civilian staff members, Myers is requesting a 3 percent pay increase next year.
Resource officer
One budget item, a school resource officer for the Flat Rock-Hawcreek School Corp., still remains to be settled.
While the $61,350 in salary and benefits paid to school resource officers annually is completely paid by the Bartholomew Consolidated School Corp., the Flat Rock-Hawcreek School Corp. can only come up with $45,000 a year for the one officer it is seeking, superintendent Shawn Price told the council.
Both Gorbett and council member Laura DeDomenic said they have heard indications that if the council agrees to fill in the financial gap for the Hope area schools with county tax dollars, BCSC officials will ask for the same consideration.
Even if that didn’t happen, the council would still be setting a precedent that could be costly in the event that private schools begin making similar requests, DeDomenic said.
In response, Myers urged the council not to tamper with the arrangement already in place with the Columbus area schools.
“Let’s go back to Flat Rock and say that if you can’t do what BCSC is doing, then we can’t do it,” Myers said.
The sheriff’s department then requested a council member serve as a member of a delegation to renegotiate with the Hope area schools.
Another nonbinding consensus showed the council is willing to work to provide school resource officers, but only to schools or districts who will pay for the officer’s salary and benefits.
[sc:pullout-title pullout-title=”County budget schedule” ][sc:pullout-text-begin]
The Bartholomew County Council is scheduled to meet from noon to 6 p.m. today and Tuesday to continue budget discussions. It will hold a roundtable meeting with appointed and elected officials at 8:30 a.m. Thursday to provide an overview of the council’s 2019 budget decisions.
The first reading of the budget for next year will include a public hearing. It is scheduled for 6 p.m. Sept. 11. Final adoption will occur during the second reading, scheduled for 6 p.m. Oct. 9.
Meetings are held in the fourth floor council chambers at the Bartholomew County Governmental Office building, located at the northwest corner of Third and Franklin streets.
[sc:pullout-text-end]
