Letter to the Editor: Sheriff Deputy addresses County pay study and current salaries

*Editor's Note: the opinions of the author are not necessarily those of Neuse News.

Good afternoon,

I am currently employed with the sheriff’s office and I would like to address an issue of grave safety to the citizens of Lenoir County. This county has been selflessly served for years by many dedicated emergency service workers. Some of the most highly skilled workers in their given fields. Employees with 20 years’ experience and a firm dedication to the safety of my family and every citizen of this county. They sacrificed time, family, finances, mental health, all for the citizens without complaint and without hesitation.

They have seen the worst of this county, the death, despair, neglect, tragedy, yet still see all the good this community has to offer. Lenoir County is and always will be home, my love for this county is steadfast and unchanging. What is changing is my ability to justify the choice to continue to do the job I love. In order to do this job, my family must make some of the same sacrifices I make. I miss nights, weekends, holidays, with them. I am lucky to have a loving wife that supports my decision, but I can see it in her eyes that it is taking a toll.

Many are called to do this job, I being one of those. It’s a calling many cannot deny. I work for my brothers and sisters and the citizens of this county to protect them against the evil that does exist in this county. That being said, many Deputies and Emergency workers feel under appreciated by this county, and the time has come for change. 

In the past 10 years the Sheriff’s office and emergency services in general in this county have seen a massive turnover of vested employees, 90% of who left for higher paying jobs in the same field. The list is extensive but includes 130 years of combined law enforcement experience, that has left this county. No amount of schooling can substitute ground level experience in this field.

Those 130 years come from 16 dedicated employees that have left within the past 10 years. There are others also, this is an issue all citizens should be concerned with. Instead of a Deputy responding to your emergency who has 15 years’ experience, the Deputy you get may only have 1-2 years. You will probably notice an extended response time also, there are fewer deputies on the road due to not being able to recruit new deputies. The main reason for this is starting pay (I’ll get into this later). 

How did we end up in this position? Allow me to explain, I began my career in 2010 with the Lenoir County Sheriff’s Office. When I began you had to wait for two things to happen before you could be hired, either someone had to retire, or someone had to pass away to allow a position to open. The line to get a job here was long and filled with qualified applicants, many of whom were residents of Lenoir County.

I remember getting the call that I got the job, but I would have to work in the jail prior to being promoted to the road as a Deputy. I jumped on the opportunity and began my career, a career I was certain I would retire from. I worked the jail for over a year before finally being called out to work as a Deputy. I took Retired Lt. K. Dunham’s position after they promoted a new lieutenant.

Pay then was decent, and we could look forward to a cost of living raise yearly that helped to keep us on a level playing field. A few years later we began to fall slightly behind on pay regarding surrounding counties. This wasn’t an issue because our health insurance at the time was great with a relatively low monthly premium. We noticed a few years of no cost of living raises, which pushed us further behind the curve. Around 2017 starting pay began to fall behind drastically.

We still had low cost insurance that helped to ease that gap. Around 2018 the County decided to change our insurance. With the new plan, families would have to pay hundreds more a month, or be offered a High Deductible HSA account. This move removed the buffer we had between low pay and benefits. Sheriff Ingram has been able to secure small victories for deputies to include overtime pay instead of Comp time, because we can’t buy groceries with Comp time. But each one of these small victories was like pulling teeth with the commissioners.  

Everyone knew by this time we were severely behind on pay and struggling to attract new Deputies. It was common knowledge what needed to be done, but instead of doing it the commissioners and county management decided to spend $50,000 on a pay study to tell us what we already knew. Well the study began and associates with the company completing the study began interviews.

At the time I was in general investigations, working as a detective. I had my interview and completed all the paperwork associated with the study in hopes that employees will soon see the compensation they deserve. During this time and for about three years, employees had received an extra paycheck every year because according to county finance there were 13 pay cycles in a year with the current monthly pay scale. So magically one year we began to get an extra paycheck that amounted to 1 months’ pay (about $2400). This was nice to have but did not change the fact our salaries were falling behind.

Then, almost as magically as they appeared, the extra checks stopped, this was the year before the raise. There is still no clear explanation on why they were given, or stopped. Time passed and we continued to fall behind. Offers were made and rejected. The study determined on average county employees were paid 28% less than comparable counties. $50,000 and sometime later we have an official answer to the issue we all knew we had, and now we had a number 28%.

During the waiting period for the raises we all hoped would come, the decision was made to go from a monthly pay cycle to a bi-weekly pay cycle. This change actually paid less money per paycheck due to the scheduling of the paychecks (at least that’s the excuse human resources gave). Finally, the time came that we were going to see a raise after a few years of locked salaries. I received about 8% of the 28% we were behind. Like many others I received a raise on paper, but not in my account.

It seems the raises were just enough to place many in a higher tax bracket, now I am not saying this was done maliciously by any means and I know it was not, however, after spending $50,000 on a pay study you would think the commissioners would have the forethought to ensure most employees see a noticeable pay increase in their take home pay. This is unacceptable and we are still the lowest paid department starting out other than Jones County.

We heard from county leadership that over time they plan to implement a gradual increase of wages in the county. There is a problem with their logic. We are still behind and will continue to stay behind unless these raises that are being requested from the sheriff are implemented now. If the commissioners of this county can’t see that this issue is being set up to continue by approving “pity raises” and get by raises, then they are blind and shouldn’t be allowed to drive themselves to these meetings. We are tired of hearing “just hold out a little longer”. I for one am done holding out for empty promises made by these commissioners. 

Now that we are here, let me explain just how bad it is. Starting Salary for a Lenoir County Sheriff’s Deputy begins at $28,622. This is the number you can find on the sheriff’s office website. For reference Pitt County has a starting salary of $37,962. Big difference right, I am sure your saying “well they have $281,450,000 in revenue annually”, you are correct, but hold on to that and we will come back. Now onto Craven County who’s starting salary comes in at $38,752, again more revenue right?

Yes, more revenue, but wait, how about Greene County, whose salary comes in at $36,000 now ($31,136 before their new raise). Green County has much less revenue than Lenoir. Let’s face facts in today’s world law enforcement is a dying breed and it is increasingly harder to recruit qualified officers to keep the citizens safe. Our commissioners don’t seem to care about that or they would be fighting to raise the incoming salary for new officers. But not only that we are losing experienced officers due to the lack of action on behalf of the board of commissioners. The Sheriff has made proposals to the county manager and expressed the need for more pay for his deputies. Unfortunately, the Sheriff cannot determine our salary without it being approved by the board of commissioners, if so we wouldn’t be having this issue. 

Now let’s get to the worse. I think it’s fair to say in the statement I have expressed the fact that by in large Lenoir County Employees are severely underpaid for the region. This is fact and was proven at the expense of the tax payer. Every department is underpaid by on average %28, every department that is with the exception of the county commissioners. Somehow over the years of stalled salaries forgone cost of living increases, insurance changes, lost income, the Lenoir County Commissioners are the highest paid commissioners of every surrounding county.

In fact, they are paid more than a North Carolina State Senator, go figure. Would someone please explain to me how every county employee is 28% underpaid but the commissioners are overpaid. No wonder Commissioner Rouse gives away $200 a year; they are making bank for the job they do. Must be nice, because I can assure you no Deputy Sheriff at this office knows that feeling.

In fact, the closest paid Commissioners are Pitt County, you know that county with a $281,450,000 a year in revenue, they come in at $13,344 a year, while Lenoir County Commissioners make $15,147 yearly ($1,800 difference) with an annual revenue of around $9,000,000, wild right? I was told we didn’t have the money for raises by commissioner Daugherty and if I could find the money he would make it happen. Well, in about 2 minutes I discover $12,000 yearly in overspending on county commissioner salaries along with a wasted $50,000.

I wonder if the commissioners of this county have ever heard of leading by example. I’m assuming not given the circumstances. As a team leader for the SRT team, I would never ask my operators to do any task I wouldn’t jump in and do myself, without hesitation. Do not sit on your high bench saying we understand when you are the highest paid commissioners of the closest 6 counties. I have watched you question the need for an armored vehicle month after Deputy Key was shot in the neck working a job he was underpaid for. We had to wait one hour for an armored vehicle to arrive.

I promise if you commissioners were the ones needing evacuation or your family that hour would seem like an eternity. You as commissioners should never stop fighting for the emergency service workers of this county, they are the backbone that keeps this country strong.

Until you have closed the eyes of a dead child a prayed over his lifeless body that you will have the strength to go home to your child and keep your sanity, you will never have the right to begin to think salaries are “adequate” or “it can wait until next fiscal year”. So I urge you to act and act now, because someone has to answer those 911 calls, no one sitting on that board with the exception of Commissioner Rouse have the skills or mental aptitude to handle what Deputies handle on a daily basis. And commissioner Rouse, I urge you to go to work making $14.21 an hour, I know its comical. 

Now onto the dire part. The emergency services in this county are some of the most dedicated in the country. But we can only take so much. The constant lack of staff is a burden we all face daily. There is no light at the end of the tunnel unless something is done now to retain and recruit employees. Nothing good is cheap, we can all agree to that, so why are the county commissioners being cheap with the safety of the citizens of this county. You may not think this affects you but it directly does.

As I type this I am one of two deputies available in the entire county with the exception of LaGrange where there are two more deputies. Pink Hill police Department does not have an officer on 24/7. Someone is breaking into your house in Pink Hill so you call 911, I will be there in 18 minutes, hopefully if I am not tied up with a domestic in Grifton. The Sheriff has done everything he can do to retain and recruit officers. We were given cards to hand out that applicants could scan with their phone and it would take them to an application to fill out. One Sgt. Handed one to a young man who was being fingerprinted, that young man respectfully declined stating he was making more at his current employer, Food Lion. 

Folks, it’s all out, I cannot express how serious this is. I’ll leave you with this, I’m tired, I’m scared, I’m sad, but I’m no longer able to justify the sacrifices made by me and my family, I pray something changes, but as of now I’m at peace dropping this badge in the hands of the Board of Commissioners, who ultimately ripped it from my chest.

Josh Garner
Lenoir County

*Editor's Note: the opinions of the author are not necessarily those of Neuse News.