STAFFORD — The turnover rate at the Stafford County Sheriff’s Office has long been a problem.
In the county’s 2040 strategic plan, leaders plan to reduce public safety turnover by developing policies to discourage staff from searching for new jobs.
“The turnover of personnel is a significant issue because deputy sheriffs receive basic, continuing and specialty training at a significant effort and cost to the county and the sheriff’s office,” Sheriff David Decatur wrote in an email to Potomac Local.
What’s the main reason why public safety employees leave Stafford?
“Deputies from the Stafford County Sheriff’s Office leave to take jobs in many places,” Decatur said. “They have left to serve in Prince William, Manassas, Manassas Park, Alexandria, The City of Fairfax, Pentagon Force Protection, the federal government, and private workforces, as well as other organizations. The common characteristic of these organizations is higher pay and/or benefits.”
According to Decatur, the starting pay is lower than 13 regional departments and lower than three of Stafford’s comparison jurisdictions, which are King George, Spotsylvania, and Fredericksburg and offers no incentives.
Decatur recommends a number of short and long-term actions to attempt to compete with surrounding jurisdictions during recruitment of new deputies and to retain trained and experienced deputies.
The short-term goals include:
- Include Sheriff’s positions, deputy through second lieutenant, in current authorized county market study
- Restoring vacancy savings and authorizing over-hirings.
- Increase starting pay by 10% (about$46,000) then to Low on Certification Release (about $49,000). All deputies across the board will receive a raise adjustment of 7.5 percent.
- Institute Evening and Night Differential
- Add a full-time recruitment position at the rank of sergeant, with pay- $158,000 per year. The sergeant would have full-time duties as an officer and recruiter.
The long-term goals will last over several years in hopes of keeping deputies in Stafford instead of leaving to go to different jobs for various reasons.
The long-term goals include:
- Initiate an independent study to address the pay structure and rules with consideration of a market target system, retention adjustment system, or step system as a substitute for the current public safety pay scale.
- Explore recruitment and retention bonuses .
From 2014 to 2017 the turnover rate increased every year from 7.7 percent to 12.2 percent but appears to have made a downturn in 2018 as the current turnover rate has reached to 9.7 percent as of Nov. 30.
