Budget committee passes sheriff’s pay raise proposals, discusses tax options for funding

Published 5:46 pm Friday, November 11, 2022

By Danielle Morin

Elizabethton Star

The Carter County Budget Committee met a final time Thursday evening to continue discussing the proposed wage increase for Carter County Sheriff’s Office employees.

Before going before the full commission board on the 21st, the committee needed to come to agreement on an amount to increase wages, produce hard numbers on what the raises would cost the county annually, and discuss ideas that could be presented to the board to fund the raises.

Many in attendance voiced grievances with the results of the previous committee’s meeting on Oct. 25 where the proposed $5 per hour increase was rescinded, with some suggesting $3.50 in its place. Jim Winchester, a community member in attendance, addressed the committee, urging, “You have to pay these people enough money that you can compete on the market and get good people, not the bottom of the barrel people.”

Mayor Patty Woodby agreed, calling the situation an “absolute disgrace.” “We’ve got to do better for our people,” said Woodby. “Law enforcement is, by far, the most important service in the county. Without it, we don’t have a community.”

Sheriff Mike Fraley said to the committee, “I want to show you that I’m working with you,” further explaining that he would agree to make changes within the sheriff’s office to help make implementing the new proposal possible.

Since his election on September 1, Fraley said he has eliminated eight corrections officer positions and streamlined three administrative positions. The structural changes would free up roughly $434,000 annually. Fraley also said he would be removing “step raises” — a raise structure within the sheriff’s office that was implemented by the previous administration. “It is grossly evident that these raises were not equally applied,” he said.

Removing the raise structure would slow the rate of wage increases and allow the county to adequately lock down funding without concern over those new wages being raised again in the near future.

Woodby and Fraley said the employee raises are important for Carter County’s future for a number of reasons, one being the threatened decertification of the jail. If the sheriff’s office does not increase staffing numbers, it could lose the federal certification, a fund that supplies $2 million each year for building’s operating costs. Woodby explained that if the jail is decertified, it must remain that way for two years before the county can apply for recertification. That means the county would be expected to pay roughly $167,000 a month for 24 months to keep the jail open, a huge cost to the county.

In addition to the savings on the building, if staffing numbers increase, the county would no longer be required to pay police academy costs for new recruits. According to Fraley, eliminating police academy costs would save the county another $4,400 per officer recruit.

Woodby also cited the impact of income raises on employee morale, which extends far beyond just making people happy. “We have to help these individuals wanting to build a career here,” she said. “Not only will they build a career, they’re going to keep their families here, they’re going to put their kids in our [school] system, they’re going to return that [money] back to the community when you pay them these salaries.”

After much discussion, the committee decided to go forward with the proposal in two separate motions: one to address raises in officers of Carter County, and a second to address raises for those non-officer jobs.

While the committee is pushing for both groups to be included in the raise, concerns exist that officers would lose out on the opportunity if board members denied the motion on the cause that non-officer roles should be exempt. Budget Committee Chair Aaron Frazier explained the strategy behind splitting the proposal into two motions by saying, “That way if somebody doesn’t like one part of it, they’re not going to vote everybody down just for that one part.”

Commissioner Robert Acuff began the first motion to reimplement the previously rescinded $5 per hour wage increase for officers. The motion would include School Resource Officers, Corrections Officers, and Patrol Officers in the salary raise. The committee voted unanimously in favor of the motion which would demand roughly $1.2 million in funding.

Commissioner Cody McQueen put the second motion in place, to implement the same $5 per hour raise across non-officer roles within the sheriff’s office. Staff affected would include office staff, dispatchers, IT technicians, and cafeteria workers, to name a few. Sheriff’s Assistant Abby Frye stressed the importance of inclusion for non-officer positions, explaining that all Carter County Sheriff’s Office employees are “certified law enforcement officers,” and should be granted the same privileges and wages as any other officer. The committee again voted unanimously in support of the second motion, which would require an additional $272,000 in funding. With both motions approved, the committee was tasked with providing possible revenue sources to fund the $1.5 million proposal.

Woodby commended the committee, saying, “I promise you I will work hard for this county to bring a revenue stream in here to pay for this.”

With the new motions in place, members of the committee discussed viable options to increase revenue for funding the wage increases.

Frazier introduced the possibility of raising property taxes. “Every time we raise the tax by a penny, we generate revenue,” he said. For Carter County, every penny equals roughly $108,000 in county revenue. This means that raising property taxes by a mere $0.16 could generate roughly $1.6 million in county revenue, and only cost property owners an average of $50 increase in property tax expenses.

Another idea on the table was that of implementing a wheel tax. Woodby had cited the success of Greene County’s wheel tax during the committee’s previous assembly, presenting figures around $4 million in revenue for the county whose population is similar to that of Carter County.

Frazier said he is also looking for other ways to save the county money that could then be used to supplement income raise funding. Some schools in Carter County, he said, are overfunded by $3 million — funds that could be used elsewhere within the community. He said the county is also in talks with a 501C3 organization who would take over the Elizabethton-Carter County Animal Shelter. If that happens, the county can reallocate those funds to other budget items as well.

Some voiced concern over how the tax increases would adversely affect the senior citizens within Carter County, who make up 56% of the population. Frazier agreed that tax increases are hardest on retired citizens, many of whom live on a fixed income.

But Commissioner Donnie Cable pointed out that Carter County’s tax rate is much lower than surrounding regions, explaining that a raise would not leave the people of Carter County over-taxed. Woodby went on to say that she had spoken with members of the community and found that many would be in favor of small tax increases if it meant keeping law enforcement strong in the community. “If they know what it is for,” she said, “people are going to understand and appreciate that.”

As the meeting came to a close, Fraley praised the budget committee, saying, “I appreciate everything that you guys have done because this has not been easy. You guys have worked hard, and we’re almost there,” with Woodby adding, “I want to applaud this committee for a very effective meeting.”

The Budget Committee will meet with the full commission on Monday, Nov. 21, at 6 p.m. in the Carter County Courthouse to present their motions as well as possible ways to generate funding for the proposal. If approved, sheriff’s office staff can expect to see wage increases as early as November 25. Fraley says he is hopeful of the outcome. “We’re one step closer. I feel confident that we’re getting where we need to be.”