A month after Sheriff Josh Brockman warned the fiscal court that the Sheriff’s Department was falling apart, the court voted on a pay scale for sheriff deputies that magistrate Chris Reeder said would be a long-term fix.
Emotions have run high this past month after the August meeting was followed the next day by the resignation of Sheriff Brockman, who retires October 1. Brockman’s message was not a new one, and the court had been working toward solutions for the sheriff’s office for quite some time, but Brockman was there to tell them that it hadn’t been enough and he was going to be down to four deputies.
In Tuesday night’s meeting, Reeder said he had been working on a proposal for the past month and followed with a recommendation that was approved unanimously by the court. The proposal includes pay raises and leaving the occupational tax at .5 cents per $100 instead of dropping it to .25 cents.
Under the proposal, current deputies with 10 years or more of experience would receive a $5 an hour raise, bringing them to $26.54 an hour, which includes funds trained officers receive from the Kentucky Law Enforcement Foundation Program Fund (KLEFPF).
New hires who have not been to the Academy would start out at $18.50 an hour and increase to $20 an hour after training. Raises would be implemented three years, five years, 10 years, 15 years, and 20 years in addition to any cost-of-living raises approved by the fiscal court.
Brockman did not attend the meeting, but deputies were there, and Deputy Gary Roy spoke and asked his fellow officers to join him. Deputies Brandon Hitch, Emily Wall, and Jason Camfield stood by Roy as he encouraged the court to approve Reeder’s proposal.
“These guys are still here, we care about the county, we care about the people in the county. It’s not like we’re asking you for money that you don’t have. You have the perfect opportunity to give us what we deserve,” Roy said.
Several people in the audience spoke in support of the pay raises and leaving the occupational tax as is, some criticizing magistrates for not taking action last month before Brockman resigned.
Even though the meeting got contentious at some points, magistrates voiced their support for the sheriff’s office and made comments about their past votes to support requests by Brockman.
Magistrate Daryl Flatt, who has been outspoken in his support of keeping the occupational tax at .25, made the motion to approve Reeder’s proposal.
Reeder commented on the process the following morning.
“Last night’s meeting shows that if you have a good plan that lays out what you want to do, what it’s going to cost, and how you plan to pay for it then we can get things done. This is how it works,” he said.
Other issues bring discussion
The meeting couldn’t get underway until the court replaced the fiscal court clerk, following the sudden resignation of Beth Cole last week. Amy Pike was hired at the same rate of $250 for the month. There were unanswered questions about how to handle minutes that have not been completed and Judge Executive Larry Russell Bryant has apparently not signed some minutes that have been approved by the court.
Several people in attendance remarked about the court’s plan to increase rental cost at the Jim Blair Center for Damon Hicks from $600 a month to $1500. The topic has been brought up several times during court meetings after the court voted for the increase without having a prior conversation with Hicks.
Magistrates Mark Humphress and Billy Coffey serve on the parks and recreation committee and made the recommendation, saying others pay $25 an hour while Hicks averages around $8.10 an hour. Hicks operates Damon’s CTA and provides classes in the Blair center. Several students and their parents have attended multiple meetings urging the court to reconsider the size of the increase. All magistrates but Terry Hadley supported the increase, which was approved effective Nov. 1.
Shannon Sexton reported for the courthouse committee and received approval to pay a bill for a new roof on the historic building. Remaining funds from ARPA revenue the court allocated for the courthouse will be used toward the roof replacement. The county has now also received the $1 million coming from the state budget and treasurer Melinda Quinn was given approval to move the funds into a special account. The court also gave approve to bid the repair of the clock tower, with plans to open bids at next month’s meeting.
The court approved Jacob Burton and Miriam Hughes for the tourism board and hired Breanna Talbott part time at 911 dispatch. Ron Stone was hired as a temporary part-time custodian for the Blair center and annex.
All magistrates were present for the meeting, which can be viewed on the Community Voice Facebook page.
By Sharon Burton
snburton@farmlandpub.com
