Dateline: August 22, 2002

Sheriff seeks remedy for officers' low wages 

By Roger Estlack, Clarendon Enterprise

All things being equal, Donley County deputies qualify for welfare, according to the guidelines of the Texas Department of Human Services (TDHS).

Given a hypothetical deputy with two children and a spouse, the $18,680 salary Donley County pays is not enough to keep the family from getting public assistance, said Julie Morris with the local TDHS office.

“He would definitely qualify for food stamps,” Morris said, “and depending on the age of the children, they would qualify for Medicaid.”

Other factors would have to be looked at to determine eligibility of actual deputies, Morris said. Those items would include if the wife worked and what other sources of income are available. It is possible that a deputy could qualify for more assistance based on individual circumstances.

Morris’ comments confirm statements made in recent days that sheriff’s deputies in Donley County earn “welfare wages,” and Sheriff Butch Blackburn wants the problem addressed. He is asking the county to increase his budget to pay three deputies a salary of $24,000 and pay the chief deputy $25,000. He also wants his salary and that of his dispatcher/jailers to be increased.

“I think it’s time Donley County gets into the 21st century and realize that law enforcement is a profession,” Blackburn said.

The sheriff, who had sought higher salaries last year but was refused, recently returned from a sheriff’s association meeting where the disparity with other counties stood out.

“Sheriffs were griping about only being able make $30,000 or $40,000 per year, and I was too embarrassed to tell them what I make. I just had to walk on to another conversation.”

As yet, commissioners have made no commitment to raise salaries in the sheriff’s department.

Donley County deputies earn approximately $8.98 per hour based on a 40-hour workweek, and dispatcher/jailers earn less than $7 per hour. Both jobs pay overtime and include health insurance, but when payroll tax and retirement deductions are made, deputies take home less than $16,000 annually.

Other jobs around the county which do not involve the risk of life pay more than what deputies receive. Groundskeepers at Clarendon College start at $19,000 to $20,000 plus benefits, and maintenance men with professional licenses earn upwards of $25,000 plus benefits at Clarendon ISD. The sanitation man who drives the trash truck for the City of Clarendon makes more than $19,000 plus benefits.

The maintenance man at the Medical Center Nursing Home earns $11.10 per hour, and Donley County Hospital District Assistant Administrator Holly Eads said the deputies’ salaries are unfair.

“Those people need more money,” Eads said. “They have critical jobs to perform, and I’d be happy to put in my share.”

Dispatcher/jailers are also paid less than other positions which require less responsibility. A beginning janitor at CC earns $7 per hour. A janitor and a cafeteria worker at CISD earn $7 per hour after their first year. The housekeeping supervisor at MCNH earns $7.43 per hour. Most city employees start out at $7 per hour with a 50¢ increase after six months and typically get annual percentage increases.

Blackburn was not surprised by the disparities.

“I think they [the other entities] just care about their employees more, and it shows,” he said.

The county is considering enacting a special debt reduction tax which would bring in money to pay for the courthouse renovation notes and would free up money in the general fund for other priorities. But there is no indication that that extra money would be used for salary increases in the sheriff’s department.

County officials say they are waiting to see if the City of Clarendon will be willing to increase the amount they pay for police protection before they consider setting the sheriff’s budget. The current contract between the city and the county is $100,000. Blackburn presented two proposals to Clarendon Aldermen last week – one calling for a $20,000 increase and another with a $40,000 increase but with increased services. No indication has been given that the county would consider matching either increase.

An Amarillo Globe-News report on Tuesday said Armstrong, Carson, and Gray counties pay deputies $25,000 or more. Briscoe County pays $21,000, and Collingsworth and Wheeler counties pay about $19,000. Blackburn said $24,000 is the average for deputies in counties with populations similar to Donley.

Blackburn says he understands the position commissioners are in with the budget, but he said good intentions and warm comments are not enough to help his officers.

“That pat on your back doesn’t feed your kids. ‘We wish we could do something’ doesn’t pay your bills.”