Murphy – Cherokee County Sheriff Dustin Smith wants to compensate his investigators for the time they spend on standby, and requested an additional $21,000 per year for the added expense.
The sheriff’s office has nine investigator positions filled out of 10 that are authorized. The investigators work daytime and evening shifts, but also pull on-call duty for when investigators are needed after hours and on holidays.
On-call deputies can’t leave the county and must be available while they are on call, which also means they can’t have a beer and must drop whatever they are doing at a moment’s notice.
Smith requested that deputies receive $40 per day when they are on-call during weekdays, and $70 per day on weekends and holidays.
Commissioner Dan Eichenbaum said it was a reasonable request.
The investigators may not be at work, but they also are not free to do as they wish during their on-call periods, he said.
Commissioner Jan Griggs pointed out that there are many other county employees who serve on-call duty, including social workers, maintenance workers, and airport personnel.
Commissioner Ben Adams said being on call was part of his job description when he was an emergency medical technician and that investigators should know going in that they don’t get paid for being on call.
He said the $21,000 for the sheriff’s office could balloon to $100,000 if every county employee who pulls on-call duty is compensated for that time
Sheriff Smith said his office risks losing personnel to other departments with better compensation packages including on-call pay, and said adding on-call pay will help him retain people.
Smith said the burnout rate among law enforcement is high and that numerous law enforcement agencies in the area provide on-call pay.
The sheriff’s office just lost a sergeant who took a patrol job with the Murphy Police Department. Smith said he wants to retain good employees.
A motion to approve on-call pay by Commissioner Randy Phillips was seconded by Eichenbaum but fell on a 2-3 vote.
The board approved a proposal by Adams to research the proposal and come back in September for further discussion.