Olivia P. Tucker
Times Reporter
At their meeting last Tuesday, Sept. 12, the Scott County Council tabled any decision to raise the salaries of sheriff deputies and deputy prosecutors.
Scott County Sheriff Jerry Goodin came to the council seeking a $5 raise for the sheriff’s deputies and jailers to help stem the loss of trained officers to other police agencies.
“You can sustain it till the end of the year and this next year but can you sustain it for the next 5 to 6 years?” asked councilman John Collins.
Goodin responded to Collins that according to Baker Tilly of Indianapolis, the county’s financial consultant, the raises could be sustained.
Collins said he had concerns about a $5.
“We are not General Motors or Ford Motor Company or anything else, we are Scott County and we have enough trouble paying our bills the way it is,” he said.
Goodin responded, “My counter to that is that I am doing it with the budget I’ve already got and is already approved.”
“What this does is gets our deputies the pay they need to be competitive,” said Council President Lindi Hughbanks. “We will stop being a jumping point for people coming in and then leaving. But also it’s setting us up for future Sheriffs, future deputies and a future department where we are not stuck in two, three years going $30,000 behind where we need to funnel in one million dollars. This is just getting us to a point where we can work with the salaries”
Hughbanks added that the County was behind on the salaries and an issue that needed to be resolved.
“I would feel a lot better to table it and let us look at the budget for what next year going to be and if the money is there then let us vote,” said councilman John White.
White also said that he was not comfortable making a decision with both John Miller and JR Ward not being present for voting on the Sheriff’s deputies’ salaries.
Scott County Prosecutor Chris Owens said to the council that he has four deputy prosecutor spots. Two of the deputy prosecutors have left and only one applicant has applied to fill that vacancy, he said.
Owens wants the council to increase the first trial deputy salary to $95,000 and the other deputy prosecutors to receive $79,000.
Collins said, “You’re like the sheriff, we can’t really vote on this, can we? We need to table this till after budget.”
Council Attorney Heather Peters said, “You vote on the remainder of this year, I mean that’s all the sheriff is asking for.” Peters asked Owens if he was just asking for the remainder of this year for the deputy prosecutors’ salaries, which Owens confirmed that he was asking for 2023 but said that it was in the proposed budget of 2024.
The Council voted to table and decisions on the salaries with Miller and Ward, not present sheriff’s deputies vote and Miller not being present for the tabling of the deputy prosecutors’ salary.