Dateline: September 19, 2002

County okays raises for sheriff's deputies 

By Roger Estlack, Clarendon Enterprise

Hopes for raises in the Donley County Sheriff’s Department were realized last Wednesday when the Commissioners’ Court passed its budget for 2002-2003.

The $1.8 million budget was approved by a unanimous vote in a special session of the court and includes significant raises for all personnel within the sheriff’s department.

Deputies’ salaries will be increasing from $18,680 to $24,000, and dispatcher/jailers hourly wage will increase from less than $7 per hour to $8 per hour. The budget also includes more money to pay for overtime hours. The sheriff’s salary will increase from $20,834.88 to $28,500.

“I’m really happy,” said Sheriff Butch Blackburn. “I want to thank the commissioners, the city aldermen, and all the citizens who supported us.”

Previously, Donley County law officers were among the lowest paid in the state, and Blackburn had been ranked as the fourth lowest paid sheriff among Texas’ 254 counties.

“We will still be on the low end, but at least this will get us off the bottom,” Blackburn said.

“We can now compete with counties around us that are the same size, and we’ll be able keep good help.”

The sheriff said he has only had one person voice opposition to the raises, although he knows there are more people than that who are not happy with the increases.

Still, the department has received a great deal of support from other citizens, including two who spoke before the commissioners’ court last month and asked for their taxes to be raised in order to pay the deputies more.

The news of the pay raises has already had a positive impact as Blackburn says morale in his department has improved 100 percent.

Chief Deputy Randy Bond said he’s pleased with the raise and knows other deputies are also.

“It’s nice to know that people care,” said Bond, who will also be getting an extra $1,000 per year for the extra duties he performs as Blackburn’s top lieutenant. “It’s nice to have the support that we had.”

Bond said the higher salary makes it more likely that he will stay in Donley County. He’s particularly grateful that he no longer has to work two jobs to make ends meet. Previously, Bond had done part time work as investigator for the district attorney’s office.

Blackburn said his employees deserved the raise for the good job they do for the county.

“People tell me what a good job I’m doing,” he said. “Well, 90 percent of that is because of my employees. I’m very fortunate to have them.”

County Judge Jack Hall said the key to being able to raise the officers’ salaries was cooperation with the City of Clarendon.

“I think it’s really good that the city worked with the county, and we all worked together to make those raises possible,” Hall said.

Commissioners also approved slight increases in the county ad valorem rate from 0.288297 to 0.293224 and in the county special (or road and bridge) rate from 0.084637 to 0.085873. A special debt component tax rate of 0.09745 was also passed to generate revenue to pay the courthouse restoration notes and the lease of patrol cars.

The total county tax rate increased from 0.372934 to 0.476549. The levy on the average Donley County homestead will increase by $26.35.