Hamilton County Sheriff Jim Hammond is asking the County Commission for a $21,000 raise, which would bring his salary to around $174,000. The sheriff, who is not running for re-election and is retiring at the end of his term, has asked that his successor also be paid that amount. He cited the additional responsibilities required to run the Silverdale Correctional Facility (after CoreCivic handed it over to the county) as the reason for this raise.
“With the daily challenges, the last six months have been the most challenging time of my career.
TCA does allow you to increase the salary of the sheriff based on what he is accomplishing,” Sheriff Hammond said. “Going forward, the sheriff has a lot more weight on him. When I started, we had about 180 employees, and now we have around 500.”
The Commissioners asked for a specific number after an earlier pay increase request from the sheriff. The county previously gave Sheriff Hammond a four percent raise as part of county-wide salary increases for government employees. Commissioner Katherlyn Geter and other Commissioners said they were hesitant to approve a raise when the county is struggling to pay deputies.
“I’m all for paying our employees what they’re worth. I’m struggling with this one heavily,” Commissioner Randy Fairbanks said. “I can make all the speeches everyone else has made about how much I appreciate what the sheriff has done. But a resolution increasing the sheriff’s pay, I struggle with that when our deputies are still underpaid.”
Commissioner Geter brought up the lack of diversity in the HCSO and had issue with the inclusion of the word “equity” in the Sheriff’s letter to the Commission asking for higher pay. Sheriff Hammond said there are around 80 vacancies in the department, and said he is constantly trying to recruit new members from minority communities.
“I would ask how many minorities and women do you have on your payroll,” Commissioner Geter asked. “To me, that’s equity. It doesn’t just come down to pay. I’m all about fair compensation and paying for hard work and the right leadership.”
The Sheriff responded by saying that his office, like many other law enforcement agencies around the country, is having difficulty finding new officers. He also said that the sheriff having a lower salary than surrounding areas could eventually lead some candidates to pass on the job.
Sheriff Hammond said the county offers a good fringe benefits package, but said the lower salary is what many younger prospective deputies look at. He said other nearby departments pay a higher starting salary.
Commissioner Warren Mackey said he will vote in favor of giving the Sheriff a raise next week, citing increased responsibility with running the Silverdale jail.