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Williamson County Sheriff pushing for competitive pay for deputies
Williamson County Sheriff Mike Gleason says right now their deputies are paid less than officers in nearby city police departments.
GEORGETOWN, Texas - The Williamson County Sheriff is pushing for competitive pay for his deputies.
"We have the facility to be a career path or a destination organization but unfortunately people chase the money now and that’s just the way it is," said Sheriff Mike Gleason.
Sheriff Gleason said during a press conference Wednesday that right now their deputies are paid less than officers in nearby city police departments. This makes it not only difficult for new people to want to apply but also makes it appealing for current deputies to leave.
"We had a senior detective that left us a month ago to go back to a police department to drive a patrol car at midnight because he could make up more ground and surpass his salary here," said Gleason.
The county is currently going over their budget. Right now it has approved about a $5.7 million increase for law enforcement which includes the jail, but the sheriff has asked for an additional $1.9 million. This would increase the starting deputy salary from $53,000 a year to $58,000. He’s hopeful this increase will not only help keep deputies but also get new people to apply.
"Half of all the population in Williamson County lives in an unincorporated jurisdiction so I, one agency, is covering 50% and 19 other agencies are covering the other half so you can see how this is kind of skewed and I’m dead last in pay you can see my dilemma," he said.
Sheriff Gleason said they are already having to pull deputies from specialized units and put them on patrol to help fill gaps while they wait for new hires.
Williamson County is set to approve its budget by the end of this month.
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