Smith
Murphy – Cherokee County sheriff Dustin Smith wanted to promote one of his sergeants to investigator, but there was a problem. The promotion would result in the deputy receiving a pay cut.
A deputy sergeant is at pay grade 68, whereas an investigator is at pay grade 67, according to Mandi Amos of Cherokee County Human Resources. The difference in pay is about $1,700 per year.
Smith asked the board of commissioners at its Jan. 8 meeting to keep his newly coined investigator at the same pay rate as if he were still a sergeant.
Commissioners were faced with a dilemma: disregard the sheriff’s request and face the possibility of losing another seasoned deputy, or honor the sheriff’s request and face more requests like it from Smith and other department heads.
“I believe at one time these positions were the same pay grade,” Amos wrote in a report. An evaluation of the county’s pay structure resulted in a restructuring that put sergeants at a higher grade than investigators.
“I would guess that is because of a sergeant’s supervisory duties,” she wrote.
Becky Veazey of the Maps Group, the consultant that evaluated the county’s pay structure, said the pay grade assignments are based on both market and internal equity comparisons.
“Often, in smaller towns, we place investigators and shift sergeants at the same level because sergeants are only supervising 1 or 2 people. More often when they supervise more, we place the sergeant higher,” she said in an email to Amos.
She said in comparing other counties, all but one of them had sergeants at a higher pay rate than investigators. The one exception was a smaller county.
While it is true that sergeants supervise people, investigators rely on extensive training and experience and are relied on to produce investigations that will lead to convictions.
Smith said his investigators each juggle about 100 cases.
The board voted 3-2 to honor Smith’s request, with Commissioners Jan Griggs and Cal Stiles voting in the minority. They expressed concerns about following policy and potential impacts to the county’s bottom line.
Other commissioners, on the other hand, echoed Smith’s concerns about retaining and training personnel in the sheriff’s office. The decision does not affect seven other investigators in the sheriff’s office.