All five members of the quorum court budget committee, Justices of the Peace Jack Deaton, Chuck Olson, Matt Phillips, Kellie Matt and Marty Johnson, met last Thursday afternoon to consider salaries in the Carroll County Sheriff’s Office. JP John Howerton also attended.
The committee had a list of deputies at the CCSO, and tried to reconcile that list with the 2019 budget. The lists differed in the number of employees, and salaries differed in some cases. The meeting was called to straighten out the accounting, and Treasurer Makita Williams and County Clerk Connie Doss attended.
Sheriff Jim Ross began with an appeal for higher salaries for his two top deputies, Chief Deputy Jerry Williams and Captain John Contreras. “My two top guys are worth every dime you can pay them,” he said.
Williams questioned setting a salary so high based on one month’s performance. She added that giving high raises to those two deputies would affect others. “You could be messing someone else up on a raise,” she said. “I want to see all these county employees get where they’re supposed to be.”
Williams explained that the budget creates positions with a set wage. She said she had not been able to connect names and positions. “I want to make sure they get their correct pay,” she said. Deaton added that the quorum court can change the salary for any position, but that would require an ordinance.
Ross said those two chief deputies would continue working hard at the salary set by the quorum court, but asked the committee to review those positions as soon as possible. “Either of them could go anywhere and make more money with their ability,” Ross said. “You’re getting your money’s worth and more.” Ross asked if he could use part of his own salary to increase their pay, but the budget ordinance sets their wages.
Ross had requested $45,000 for his chief deputy, and JPs reminded him that elected county officials did not make that much until a recent wage overhaul. Ross said some of those elected officials “sat on their behinds and drove our county sheriff’s office into the ground.”
Deaton cautioned the sheriff not to “repeat that old refrain of blaming the quorum court.” As an example of the struggle JPs face in balancing the budget, Deaton mentioned an unexpected expense of $150,000 approved a few days earlier at the quorum court meeting. “That money comes out of the same place as raises,” he said.
Ross said he knew at the outset that he would have a hard time replacing Administrative Assistant Pam Webb. “One of my toughest problems to solve has been rotating Jessie [Perew] into Pam’s position,” he said. Webb has held that position through several sheriffs, and agreed to delay her retirement to help train her successor.
Webb told Ross it would take a full year to properly train Perew, but Ross said he expects her to be ready to take over by summer. Doss said Perew could call her anytime with questions. During the transition, she encouraged Ross to have one person responsible for bookkeeping.
Doss will reconcile Ross’s personnel list with the positions created by the budget ordinance. JPs reminded Ross of plans to increase salaries at the Road Department and the CCSO in the 2020 budget. A major overhaul this year adjusted wages in other county departments.