Post by death on Nov 26, 2018 7:56:11 GMT -5
Reps blame low pay for shortage of deputies in Wayne County
November 26, 2018 06:55 AM
Wayne County Sheriff's deputies and county officials have failed to come to an agreement on a pay rate for deputies. This means many deputies are jumping ship to head to other departments where they will be paid more.
Right now, the Wayne County Sheriff's Office is short close to a dozen full-time deputies and short close to a half-dozen part-time deputies.
This means others are working long hours to make up for the shortage.
Sixty Wayne County Sheriff's deputies, sergeants, and investigators are fighting for a raise. Chris Toole with Teamsters Local 118 represents Wayne County deputies. He says deputies in Wayne County make $26 per hour compared to Newark Police officers that make $31 per hour. The union is asking for a 30 percent pay raise because they have not had a raise since 2015.
"We're talking about three years worth of catch up here which is going to be substantial but it will be equal with everyone else," Toole said. "Our men and women right now are 6, 7, and 8 dollars an hour less than the other counties surrounding Ontario, Monroe, and Seneca."
County officials claim deputies are paid similar to counties of the same size, but Toole disagrees. He says this forces deputies to jump ship for a different department with better pay which he says is causing a shortage in the department.
"This causes our police officers to work 15-20 hours a day to compensate for the lack of staffing...that's the impact right there," Toole said. "People are going through the academy and they are immediately transferring to other departments where they will be better compensated."
Toole says overworking the deputies is a recipe for disaster.
"I think the county administrator and the board of supervisors they're playing Russian Roulette with their taxpayers and the men and women who work for them," Toole said.
Negotiations with the county have been going on since 2016 and now county officials are bringing in an outside mediator hoping to fix the problem, but Toole isn't optimistic.
"This is going to set us back months if not years, now we're talking four or four and a half years without a raise," Toole said. "I have bus drivers and UPS drivers, that make more than the police officers in Wayne County and it is sad." "BUT AS LONG AS I GET MORE OF A SALARY WHILE I SIT ON MY ASS AND LOOK LIKE I'M DOING SOMETHING"
County officials say they remain optimistic that they will be able to get back to the table with the mediator by the end of the year to try to agree on a contract going forward.
November 26, 2018 06:55 AM
Wayne County Sheriff's deputies and county officials have failed to come to an agreement on a pay rate for deputies. This means many deputies are jumping ship to head to other departments where they will be paid more.
Right now, the Wayne County Sheriff's Office is short close to a dozen full-time deputies and short close to a half-dozen part-time deputies.
This means others are working long hours to make up for the shortage.
Sixty Wayne County Sheriff's deputies, sergeants, and investigators are fighting for a raise. Chris Toole with Teamsters Local 118 represents Wayne County deputies. He says deputies in Wayne County make $26 per hour compared to Newark Police officers that make $31 per hour. The union is asking for a 30 percent pay raise because they have not had a raise since 2015.
"We're talking about three years worth of catch up here which is going to be substantial but it will be equal with everyone else," Toole said. "Our men and women right now are 6, 7, and 8 dollars an hour less than the other counties surrounding Ontario, Monroe, and Seneca."
County officials claim deputies are paid similar to counties of the same size, but Toole disagrees. He says this forces deputies to jump ship for a different department with better pay which he says is causing a shortage in the department.
"This causes our police officers to work 15-20 hours a day to compensate for the lack of staffing...that's the impact right there," Toole said. "People are going through the academy and they are immediately transferring to other departments where they will be better compensated."
Toole says overworking the deputies is a recipe for disaster.
"I think the county administrator and the board of supervisors they're playing Russian Roulette with their taxpayers and the men and women who work for them," Toole said.
Negotiations with the county have been going on since 2016 and now county officials are bringing in an outside mediator hoping to fix the problem, but Toole isn't optimistic.
"This is going to set us back months if not years, now we're talking four or four and a half years without a raise," Toole said. "I have bus drivers and UPS drivers, that make more than the police officers in Wayne County and it is sad." "BUT AS LONG AS I GET MORE OF A SALARY WHILE I SIT ON MY ASS AND LOOK LIKE I'M DOING SOMETHING"
County officials say they remain optimistic that they will be able to get back to the table with the mediator by the end of the year to try to agree on a contract going forward.