KINGWOOD — Employees of the Preston County Sheriff’s Office and Preston County Office of Emergency Management/911 got a pay raise at Tuesday’s regular meeting of the Preston County Commission.
Sheriff Paul Pritt asked the commission to increase pay to a level that would put the sheriff’s office in a better position to hire and retain personnel.
“Recently we’ve lost I think four,” Pritt said. “So we just can’t keep anybody, we can’t get anybody to apply for the jobs, etc., etc.”
Pritt said deputies go beyond their role as law enforcement in ways that save the county money, such as in-house firearms and defense instructors.
Commissioners voted 3-0 in favor of the raise for a total salary increase of $133,681.26 spread among law enforcement, civil process, courthouse security, and home confinement personnel.
OEM/911 Director Duane Hamilton asked for a $1-an-hour raise across the board “for the same problem.”
“The last dispatch we hired, it took us six months to get her hired, one that’s actually stayed,” Hamilton said.
He explained dispatchers need four national certifications, “I mean, we put ads and ads and ads and everybody comes, they come in and they take the test, they walk out the door and never see ‘em again, for the most part.”
The 911 center runs 24/7 and the cost of childcare is also hurting its ability to keep people. If an employee is lucky enough to find a babysitter, it’s $700-$800 a month and “almost worth staying home,” Hamilton said.
The 911 pay increase is sustainable because it’s been paid with 911 fees. Assistant Director Justin Wolfe said 911 fees have to stay internally.
With the increase, which the commission unanimously approved, the starting salary for a dispatcher is $16 an hour.
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