Over the past eight months, Sheriff Wendell Hall has presented to the Santa Rosa County Commission a wage proposal for the employees of the Santa Rosa County Sheriff’s Office. He has provided commissioners with documentation of the need for the wage adjustment, including the fact that employees have not received an increase in the past five years, a lack of competitiveness with other local and state law enforcement agencies, and most alarmingly, an increasing turnover among both young and veteran deputies.
The members of the Sheriff’s Office, its road deputies and supervisors want to make it clear that they stand 110% behind Sheriff Hall’s wage proposal. It is fair and warranted. They can assure the public that the concerns and problems explained by Sheriff Hall are real. Morale is low and a reasonable wage raise adjustment is needed.
Your deputies are all dedicated law enforcement officers with their purpose being to serve and protect you. However, at some point, earning a competitive salary to feed their families and raise their children becomes an overriding concern for them.
The wage proposal submitted by Sheriff Hall to the County Commission for his employees is a good start toward solving the problem the Sheriff’s Office faces with recruiting and retaining professional, dedicated deputies. As representatives of Santa Rosa County road deputies and supervisors, the Florida PBA is requesting citizens to contact the County Commission at 983-1877 and ask them to help Sheriff Hall and his dedicated employees by granting them a fair wage increase.
Hal Johnson
General Counsel
Florida Police Benevolent Association
Tallahassee
This article originally appeared on Santa Rosa Press Gazette: Florida PBA supports deputy's raises