County Raises Deputies’ Salaries
At the request of Sheriff’s Deputy Keith Burnett (sheriff-elect), the Glasscock County Commissioners’ Court (Marck Schafer absent) on April 14 agreed to raise deputies’ salaries by $6,500 each, presumably effective immediately. The raise would take the current salaries of $32,300 to $38,800.
The total increase of $13,000 would be almost completely offset by Burnett’s plan to eliminate the part-time job of sheriff’s department dispatcher on Jan. 1, 2009, when he officially becomes county sheriff. That job pays $12,000 annually, and is currently held by Tisha Burnett. Burnett says he wants the sheriff and two deputies to do their own dispatching, and thinks a separate dispatcher is unnecessary.
The salary increase will go to Burnett’s current deputy salary, and to the salary of another deputy he hopes Sheriff Royce Pruit can hire soon. As of Jan. 1, Burnett will be paid the sheriff’s salary, and two deputies will be paid $38,800 each. He said one of the two will be designated as chief deputy, and may be paid $50 or $100 per month more.
In explaining his reasons for asking for the raises, Burnett said the current salary, plus a shortage of housing here, make it very hard to recruit quality, experienced people. And, he said, “The oilfield is killing us!” He said he doesn’t want an inexperienced “kiddie deputy.”
He gave the commissioners a list of deputies’ salaries from three neighboring counties, which showed Glasscock County’s $32,300 well below the others. Martin County pays deputies $36,300 and the chief deputy $41,000; Upton County pays deputies $37,900 and the chief deputy $43,000; Reagan County deputies are paid $39,753 and the chief deputy $44,500.
Additional Deputy Needed Soon
Burnett said the sheriff’s department is short-handed and in a real bind now, and needs an additional deputy very soon. He said former deputy Ken Zunker hasn’t worked since the last of February, having taken vacation time after that. He said Zunker’s last day on the county payroll was April 14.
Burnett said the department currently has only one fully equipped patrol vehicle (the pickup he drives). He said Sheriff Pruit’s pickup isn’t fully equipped, and the other patrol car has never had the video camera and new radio, which were bought for it, installed. This vehicle will be equipped for the new deputy, Burnett said, and will be used another year until it is replaced in the normal department rotation. Burnett said his pickup has 90,000 “hard” miles on it, and after Jan. 1, it will probably be sent to the county road crew, and Pruit’s pickup will be fully equipped for patrol use.
In a general conversation with commissioners, Burnett said as sheriff, he would never come to them asking for things he wants, but will ask only for things he needs. Commissioner Jimmy Strube stressed that he wants an “open door” policy, with plenty of communication between the sheriff and the commissioners’ court, for the benefit of county citizens. Burnett agreed, and said he plans to attend each commissioners’ meeting, just to listen, to keep in touch, and to keep communications open.