Friction by County Leaders Over the Use of Grant Funds

Fayette County Commissioners Court voted 3-2 last Thursday to approve a proposal from the Sheriff’s Office for the use of Senate Bill 22 grant funds.

The bill, which Gov. Greg Abbott signed into law last year, established a new grant fund aimed at raising salaries for rural law enforcement officers and jailers. The bill established minimum salary thresholds of $75,000 for the Sheriff in each county, $45,000 for deputies and $40,000 for jailers. Grant funds may be used to increase salaries to at least those amounts.

SB 22 also stipulated that grant funds may be used to purchase equipment once those employees reach the minimum salary thresholds. Fayette County already paid those positions more than that. The budget proposal that Fayette County Sheriff Keith Korenek submitted allocated all of the grant funds for additional salary increases.

Sheriff Korenek issued a statement Thursday thanking the members of the court who voted in favor of his proposal.

“The Fayette County Sheriff’s Office would like to give a big thank you to Fayette County Judge (Dan) Mueller, Commissioner Pct. 2 Luke Sternadel, and Commissioner Pct. 4 Drew Brossmann,” Korenek said “We would also like to thank Emergency Management Coordinator Angela Hahn. We would like to show our appreciation for the support of the Senate Bill 22 funds in allowing the Sheriff’s Office to use these funds for long overdue raises to make us comparable or above surrounding counties for the first time in many years.”

Pct. 1 Commissioner Jason McBroom and Pct. 3 Commissioner Harvey Berckenhoff voted against the Sheriff’s proposal.

“I voted against it, but I’m glad we’re getting the SB 22 money,” McBroom said. “I’m glad deputies and jailers are getting a raise. But I wanted us to use some of that money for equipment rather than exhaust it all on salary.” “I was disappointed they didn’t use any of it for equipment,” Berckenhoff said. “The problem I had with the salaries is this: for the last four or five years they’ve been complaining about the deputies’pay and the jailers’ pay. Those employees got the least amount. The supervisor, the lieutenant and the investigators got the top pay. They guys on the street got the least amount. I thought it wasn’t fair.”

Some have accused Mc-Broom and Berckenhoff of wanting to “defund the police” by voting against the Sheriff’s proposed budget for the SB 22 funds. McBroom and Berckenhoff denied that charge. Both said they were in favor of the County applying for the SB 22 money, but they opposed the way the Sheriff’s Office decided to distribute it.

“We voted to give them $350,000,” Berckenhoff said. “How is that defunding the police? We chose to go out for this grant to get this $350,000. We’re the reason they got this $350,000. Commissioners Court took action to apply for that grant. I’m not sure how you can consider that defunding. My problem is with how the Sheriff distributed the money.”

“This could have helped the County and taxpayers tremendously with purchasing vehicles,” McBroom said.

According to the Sheriff’s Office, the new base pay for a deputy will start at $54,500. The next level of deputy will make $55,500 base salary. Deputies can top off at $56,500 base pay. The new base pay for investigators will now be $62,000, with sergeants’ base pay going to $67,000. The base pay for the Lieutenant position will be at $72,000, with the Chief Deputy’s salary coming in at $79,000. Sheriff Korenek will now make $95,172.

The current base salary for Jailers will now start at $47,550. The next three levels are in increments of $1,000, with the maximum jailer base salary being $51,550. The jail sergeants will now have $53,550 base pay, and the Jail Lieutenant base pay being $56,000. The Jail Administrator’s new base salary will be at $64,000.

“The Fayette County Sheriff’s Office currently has two positions open for patrol and the Jail currently has three open positions,” said Korenek in the statement issued last Thursday. “We are hoping that this increase can finally get us full staffed for the first time is several years. This will better help us to serve the community and ensure that our county is getting the best services as possible from the Fayette County Sheriff’s Office.”

County Auditor Cindy Havelka said local taxpayers will not be totally off the hook for the SB 22 raises. She said the County pays its law enforcement officers compensatory (comp) time in lieu of overtime. They earn 1.5 hours for every hour above 86 hours during a two-week pay period. Officers may use their comp time as paid time off. Havelka said that if they accrue more than 480 hours of comp time, the County will have to pay them for it at their new hourly rate. She said the County also pays them for it when officers resign or retire.

Havelka reported that 18 of the County’s 26 deputies currently have more than 480 hours of comp time. Havelka told the Record on Friday she was working to calculate the total dollar amount of comp time that local taxpayers will be liable for, but she gave a “ballpark estimate” of $300,000 based on the new hourly rates.