10/06/2022
Citizens of Hood County,
We need your support! Many rumors have been spread across the internet and throughout various organizations about recent events at the Sheriffโs Office. Well, here are the facts. The Sheriffโs Office is hemorrhaging deputies at an alarming rate. To be absolutely clear, this is not a result of failed leadership, management or administration. The Hood County Sheriffโs Office enjoys a very supportive administration and has a strong leader in Sheriff Roger Deeds.
We are losing deputies because the Commissioners Court has failed to make Public Safety a priority in Hood County. Latest polling shows 6 vacant positions and several deputies in the background process with other agencies. Qualified applicants are non-existent and the projected vacancy by yearโs end looks to be 10-12 positions.
This soon to be crisis is really two-fold and we will explain below, but to further clarify, the Law Enforcement Association of Hood County (LEA) is not asking for a tax hike in the middle of unprecedented inflation or a possible recession looming. The LEA is simply asking the Commissioners Court to spend the money that is already there, will continue to be there and will increase, due to the record growth in Hood County.
Here are the main objectives of the LEA with this request.
Compensation
Compensate our deputies a competitive wage for their chosen profession. Hood County deputies are among some of the lowest paid in the region for both entry level and lateral positions. A new deputy at Hood County makes $51,000 a year, as of today. Looking at 11 surrounding agencies to which we have recently lost deputies, the average starting salary is $59,270 for a new deputy.
When we look at the lateral transfer programs in those same agencies, which are rapidly stealing away our deputies with 5 or more years of experience, the average grows to $70,776. A Hood County deputy with 5 years of experience makes approximately $53,085, a $17,000 dollar deficit. This leaves the citizens of Hood County to foot the bill for hiring and training a new deputy that will only once again be stolen away in a few years.
Part of this issue is the lack of a real pay scale. A deputy should be able to look at a pay scale and know what they are making as a 1 year, 3 year, 5 year, or 10 year deputy. Currently this does not exist and Deputies with the same experience are scattered amongst the imaginary pay scale the County currently uses, leaving a wide variance in salaryโs from deputy to deputy. This does not even touch on the higher end of the system that has administrators making less than their subordinates and discourages career develop as there is no incentive to promote.
LEA members are not asking to be the highest paid agency around or comparing our agency to other highly paid organizations in the metroplex. Surely though, Hood County can pay its deputies an average or dare we say slightly above average wage. We certainly do not tell our Deputies at shift briefing, โGo out into your communities today and be averageโ. Retention pay has also recently helped surrounding agencies retain their personnel and would go a long way to stop the bleeding.
Overtime. Hood County does not pay deputies overtime. They receive only โcomp timeโ which is the equivalent of paid time off. However, due to staffing levels, training, injuries, court, emergencies, etc. this is not seen as much of a benefit because the deputies can rarely use it. Allowing for an overtime budget would go a long way in financially compensating deputies for their time while they are protecting our citizens and keep them from having to work so many off duty jobs to supplement their income.
Personnel
As previously stated, Hood County is seeing explosive growth. Thousands of homes are scheduled to be built from Cresson to Tolar and Glen Rose to Weatherford in the next 2-3 years. Conservatively that could be 12,000 people moving into our communities and likely to be much greater.
The Sheriff and his administration has repeatedly petitioned the Court to provide us with the resources and personnel to continue keeping the citizens of Hood County safe. From the Sheriff down, we have 55 sworn positions at the Sheriffโs Office; this is around half of what the national recommendation is for our population and geographic location.
The administration has been trying to โbuyโ this number down for some time, requesting 20 positions as a start, but has been approved for 0. Currently, the Patrol Division is most often operating at a minimum staffing level. This means there are 4 Patrol Deputies working the entire county. A community of 60,000+ residents and most days we have 4 Deputies to respond to emergencies and answer calls. Hood County deserves better.
The LEA would ask the Court to at least make forward progress in this area and start somewhere. Maybe its 4 positions, 8 positions or 12 positions, but it cannot be 0 positions. If we continue to stand still in this area, we are moving backwards and will not be able to catch up.
If you have made it this far, hopefully you are asking what you can do to help. The next Commissioners Court meeting is on Tuesday, Oct. 11th at 9:00 a.m. in the Central Jury Room, at the Hood County Justice Center. We feel your voice can and will make a difference. Please attend and if you feel so compelled, fill out a request form to speak to the Court.
In the interim and for those who cannot attend, the Commissioners Courtโs contact information is provided below. Please let them know you support public safety and the Hood County Sheriffโs Office.
County Judge Ron Massingill
[email protected]
Precint 1 - Kevin Andrewsโโโโโ
[email protected]
Precint 3 โ Jack Wilson
โโโโโโ[email protected]
Precint 2 - Ron Cottonโโโโโโ
[email protected]
Precint 4 โ Dave Eagle
[email protected]
Thank you for listening and Hood County, we appreciate your support!
