Bartholomew County Sheriff Chief Deputy Maj. Chris Lane
Bartholomew County Sheriff Chris Lane is proposing a spending plan that would raise the base pay of starting deputies to $70,000 annually.
Former sheriff and current county councilman Mark Gorbett said state lawmakers gave the Indiana State Police a substantial recruiting advantage after raising the annual pay for a probationary Indiana State Police trooper from $61,000 to $70,000.
In addition, a new trooper receives a $5,000 bonus after completing field training.
There are indications the Columbus Police Department may feel obligated to provide the same level of compensation when they vote on next year’s budget this fall, Lane said.
“Raising this base pay to $70,000 ought to make us very competitive in the market place in our ability to retain and recruit quality employees,” Lane said. The department hopes to attract more veterans by providing up to $7,120 bonuses to former military personnel, the sheriff added.
Indiana law requires a minimum amount of people to be working in both the jail and in the community at all times, Gorbett said. Appearing before the Bartholomew County Council, Lane outlined reasons why it is getting increasingly difficult to retain an adequate staff.
- 19 merit deputies have left in the last five years, resulting in a 42% turnover due to career or agency changes.
- At no time in the last eight years has the sheriff’s department and jail been fully staffed due to attrition.
- Consistent with a national trend, the applicant pool has declined more than 50% in the last five years, the sheriff said.
- While the wait from hiring a new deputy to the officer’s road qualification had been 14 months, recent changes to Indiana Law Enforcement Academy policy may expand the wait to two years.
Lane told the council about an extensive recruiting drive undertaken to find new deputies. But only 26 people submitted applications, he said. On the day of the initial test, only 11 showed up. Following the first interview and the physical agility test, only five candidates were left before two of the five dropped out to accept jobs with other law enforcement agencies, he said.
But Lane is not asking for additional deputies or corrections officers next year. He also expressed optimism that his department will be able to reduce overtime and avoid “running our people into the ground,” he told the council.
Last year, one deputy made $44,286 in overtime wages, while another earned $23,983 in overtime, according to figures provided by county auditor Pia O’Connor.
The first-term sheriff also said he will utilize supplemental funds from commissary sales and drug seizures to fund two patrol cars at a cost of $106,100, as well as Taser payment increases of $33,520.
Lane’s proposal for next year also includes the hiring of a full-time civil process server and a full-time records clerk. While the two positions would cost $112,033, the sheriff’s proposal calls for eliminating four vacant part-time positions that will save $147,625. The part-time positions have not been filled since January of last year because no person has expressed interest in filling them, Lane said.
The sheriff said he would be willing to reduce a fifth part-time position, saving another $32,177, if that is the will of the council. In total, Lane is trying to give $157,571 back to the county, O’Connor said.
But inflation means some line items will cost more next year, Lane said. They include:
- Inmate food (increasing $24,609)
- Inmate contractual medical services (increasing $29,261)
- Pensions, Social Security and Medicare (increasing $24,480)
- Health insurance (increasing $25,330)
Other increases on the budget include $58,200 for new Tasers; $15,000 for radios; $31,300 for vests and ballistic equipment; $6,200 for duty weapons; $20,000 or SWAT and Water Rescue; $131,000 for car and body cameras and $15,300 for crash reconstructions, CSI and investigations.
The initial, first-reading vote of the county budget by the county council members will be 6 p.m. on Tuesday, Sept. 12. The council is expected to adopt the entire 2024 budget at 6 p.m. on Tuesday, Oct. 10.
The council meets at the Bartholomew County Governmental Office Building at Third and Franklin streets.
