HIGH DEPUTY TURNOVER RATE LINKED TO MEAGER SALARIES

JACKSON -- The Cape Girardeau Sheriff's Department is having trouble keeping its deputies.

In the last 15 months, 14 new officers have been put into a 12-person division for road patrols, Sheriff John Jordan said.

"Pay is constantly an issue," Jordan said.

Among Missouri's first class counties, Cape Girardeau has one of the lowest salaries for sheriff's deputies.

But comparing Cape Girardeau County with other first-class counties significantly larger in population isn't realistic, said Gerald Jones, presiding county commissioner.

"We're one of the smallest first-class counties by population," Jones said. "Jefferson County's law enforcement budget is greater than our whole county's budget."

In Southeast Missouri, Cape Girardeau deputies are in the middle of salary standings. But this includes five counties with populations at least one-third smaller offering higher pay than Cape Girardeau County. New Madrid County, with a population just over 20,000, has the highest starting pay for deputies in the region at $26,000.

Jordan is not as concerned about competing with regional sheriff's departments as with local law enforcement. Most deputies who leave go to police departments in Jackson or Cape Girardeau, while others are hired by the state Highway Patrol.

"Cape doesn't have to be the highest paid," Jordan said. "I just want our salaries to be competitive."

Jones has not heard any complaints lately about salaries from the sheriff's department.

"We have given substantial raises to the sheriff's department," Jones said. "And that's not been true for all county employees."

A separate salary schedule was developed for the sheriff's department in 1997, with pay increasing through experience and training.

"We spent a lot of time on this," Jones said. "We did what the sheriff's department requested."

Jordan concedes that since he has been sheriff, commissioners have increased deputies salaries twice. But he said he is still losing deputies.

Deputies assigned to road patrols average three years experience, Jordan said.

"I'll put our officers up against any, but it is hard to maintain levels of performance with this amount of turnover," he said.

Problems began when the county achieved first-class status by virtue of its assessed evaluation in 1997, the sheriff said. The number of deputies have been increased since then, but it has been difficult to have salaries grow along with personnel.

This is the difference between higher salaries for deputies in Scott County and others smaller than Cape Girardeau County, Jordan said. Hiring fewer deputies in these other counties allows them to offer higher salaries, he said.

Jordan is planning to have his department develop salary comparisons this year with law enforcement agencies in the region, with an eye toward budget adjustments for next year.

COUNTY DEPUTIES' STARTING SALARIES

New Madrid, $26,000

Scott, $24,000***

Butler, $22,880

Pemiscot, $21,000

Stoddard, $20,000

Cape Girardeau, $19,500

Dunklin, $18,050

Wayne, $18,000

Madison, $17,680

Mississippi, $17,500

Perry, $16,640*

Bollinger, $15,600**

*Based on $8/hour

Based on $7.50/hour

Requires one year prior experience