Officials forced to hike salaries

The weekly Questions:      Do you think a 15 percent pay hike for Ector County sheriff's deputies was fair?:  Yes 75%   No 25%

Should Ector County sheriff's deputies be given a pay raise?   Yes 70%   No 30%

Ector County was faced with a pay-'em-or-lose-'em proposition when it came to its law enforcement people. So it became a no-brainer to fold more compensation for sheriff's deputies into the budget for next year.

It didn't take long for Ector County commissioners to grasp the importance of raising the salaries. Because low pay was causing an exodus of experienced law officers, a 12 percent hike for starting deputies and a 9 percent increase for current deputies was added to the 3 percent cost-of-living bump proposed for all county employees.

That concern was mirrored by this newspaper's weekly poll, as 70 percent of the participants favored giving the raises.

Alas, because county officials acted so quickly, the poll had to be changed in midstream. The question was amended to: Do you think a 15 percent pay hike for Ector County sheriff's deputies was fair?

And 75 percent of those respondents voted yes, even though Sheriff Mark Donaldson had asked for an 18 percent increase to bring his deputies closer to other agencies' pay scales in Odessa and the surrounding area. The sheriff's concerns were stoked by the fact that six deputies had left the ECSO for better paying jobs in the past two months.

The ante, of course, was upped recently when the City of Odessa agreed to a 13.64 percent starting pay for new officers.

And while at least some taxpayers tend to protest higher government salaries at their expense, it is easier to justify hikes for those who provide a valuable service in terms of safety and public security. Community awareness of the potential dangers that face law enforcement personnel (three Odessa Police Department corporals were killed while answering a domestic call last September) also plays into the equation.

The raise folded into the county budget won't bring deputies up to the same level as a lot of area police departments, but it is enough, coupled with a good benefits package, to allow the sheriff to have a halfway level playing field when recruiting new deputies and retaining existing personnel.

All in all, it's probably a pretty good investment.

>> kandm123100: I was very disappointed when the community banded to gather to demand wage increases for the OPD and NOT ONCE did anyone think to extend it to the sheriffs. I live in West Odessa and I know they are extremely overworked. If you stop and think of all that is considered their territory to cover, a lot of it being isolated and dark. We need more sheriffs, not only for our safety but for theirs as well. The ones we have need to be paid as well as, if not better than the OPD officers.

>> Dolphinwitheagle: I believe the officers of Ector County deserve a raise. Their job is dangerous and they make sacrifices. However, I also believe the detention officers of Ector County deserve a raise as well. Their job isn't easy either and why should one section of the sheriff's office get a raise while the other doesn't. The shortage of jailers is also a very real problem and they should be compensated accordingly.

>> Sackettuno: It is about time for the law enforcement officers to receive a pay raise. Odessa has been behind for many years. I am glad to see Odessa PD officers get a raise, and the sheriff's office should also receive a raise. If the city and county government officials would see to it that a raise was given more often, they wouldn't have to come up with a big chunk at one time.

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