Sheriff looks to add six deputies to roster

’05 budget cut cost Pulaski County 22

The Pulaski County sheriff’s office hopes to soon expand its patrol ranks for the first time in more than a decade.

On Tuesday, the county’s Quorum Court will vote on adding six patrol deputies to the law enforcement agency’s ranks. It would be the first expansion of the agency’s enforcement division since a gutting of the county’s budget in 2005 cut more than 90 positions from the sheriff’s office.

That year, flattening salestax revenue and increased costs of employee benefits and insurance, along with rising operational costs of the county jail, created an unexpected $7 million shortfall. County leaders were forced to account for the costs by cutting roughly 10 percent of the county’s 1,200-person staff.

The slimming claimed 22 deputy positions in the county’s patrol division. The number of deputies patrolling each of the six districts in the 580 square miles of the county was reduced to eight.

“People were laid off, terminated,” Pulaski County Sheriff Doc Holladay said. “We just lost those positions because the county couldn’t afford to pay them. So people who had been here less than a year, people who had no seniority were sent on down the road.

“We’ve been telling the Quorum Court for the last 11 years that we need to enhance our patrol presence,” Holladay said.

If approved Tuesday, it will be the first step toward returning the force to its pre-2005 numbers. The six positions would be funded with money saved by a change at the county jail. Last year the sheriff’s office turned the jail’s medical wing over to a private operator, saving about $750,000 annually.

“I think our patrol presence in the neighborhoods will be better,” Holladay said. “We’ll take a look at the county financial situation next year, and I would hope that we’d be able to ask for additional personnel next year.”

Salaries for the six positions will start at $33,600 and, like all county deputies, will be capped at $38,000.

The pay is a far cry from the offerings of other law enforcement agencies in central Arkansas. Little Rock police officers start at $41,000 a year. North Little Rock starts rookie police recruits at $38,600 a year, while people with at least two years of experience get $40,600 and officers with at least five years of experience get $45,749.

The salary discrepancies have hampered the recruitment and retention of new deputies over the years. Moreover, county officials in January dropped health insurance coverage for all county employees’ spouses, according to the county’s human resources department.

The effect has been a high turnover rate in recent years. The sheriff’s office, which has 121 funded deputy positions, has seen 145 deputies resign since 2008, with the turnover rate having picked up in recent years, according to data provided by the department.

With 11 resignations so far this year, 2017 is on track for the highest turnover in the past 10 years.

Roughly 90 percent of those leaving find other law enforcement work in central Arkansas, some with the Little Rock or North Little Rock police departments, others with the Arkansas State Police, the prosecutor’s office, attorney general’s office or the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences Police Department.

“You gotta realize we’re all fishing from the same pond, and when the top pay over at Little Rock is $60,000 and we’re paying $38,000 — you do the math,” Chief Deputy Michael Lowery said.

Little Rock officer Ryan Stubenrauch found himself doing that math two years ago as he made his decision to leave the sheriff’s office.

“I had worked there for 12 years, and [my salary] was topped out,” Stubenrauch said. “The only time I was actually going to get any more money was if the Quorum Court allowed us to have a raise. I have a daughter, and she was getting to school age, and I just couldn’t afford to make that same paycheck anymore.”

He recalled a time about five years ago when all county employees were receiving a routine 4 percent raise at the same time county employee insurance benefits changed.

“We got a 4 percent raise, which ended up being like $104 extra a month on our pay checks. Well, the insurance changed that year, too, and if we were going to keep the same coverage it was going to cost us $130 a month. So it’s like we get a raise but then we get shot in the foot with insurance,” he said.

Stubenrauch was recruited by the Little Rock Police Department through its Lateral Officer Program, which incentivizes experienced lawmen with a higher starting salary and an abbreviated training period.

After 12 years of working with the county Stubenrauch was earning $35,000 a year. His first year’s salary at the Little Rock Police Department was more than $40,000, he said.

“I really do think that’s the No. 1 reason why people leave. It’s just because at Pulaski County, your pay scale only goes up a certain amount,” he said.

In Little Rock, “they’re paying you more, but you’re doing more,” Stubenrauch added. “In the two years that I’ve been at Little Rock I’ve seen more than the 12 years that I was at the county.”

Facing recruitment and retention issues of its own, the Little Rock Police Department expanded its Lateral Officer Program this year. Previously, lawmen with at least 32 consecutive months of law enforcement service were eligible for the program’s benefits. That requirement has been reduced to 24 months.

The program has recruited 19 officers since its inception in 2012, according to department data.

“We think it’s a good ground for us, but obviously other agencies don’t like it when you implement a lateral program,” police Capt. Heath Helton said during a presentation to the Little Rock Board of Directors in March.

The expansion of the program was aimed at addressing an average turnover rate of nearly 40 officers a year.

In February, the North Little Rock Police Department also revamped its recruiting program by offering higher starting salaries for experienced officers.

Lateral-entry programs have become a popular recruitment strategy in police departments across the country as both small and large law enforcement agencies report significant vacancy struggles.

“I don’t think that there are many people now that are trying to get into law enforcement, because of the nature of the times. It’s a difficult profession, more so now in many ways than in the past,” Holladay said.

“And the economy is good, and when the economy is good, people look for other ways to make money,” he said. “But we’re always going to have need for new, fresh talent, and commitment from young people who want to be involved in law enforcement. So we have to do our part to encourage them.”

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