Posted April 20, 2023
Over the last year, the Granville County Board of Commissioners has worked to provide fair and competitive compensation to employees of the Granville County Sheriff’s Office (GCSO). As work continues on the 2023-2024 fiscal year budget, members of the Board are working with management and Sheriff Robert Fountain to ensure that the GCSO is able to attract capable and qualified employees to staff all vacancies, particularly the critical law enforcement and detention officer positions. The information provided below details past and future initiatives by the Granville County Board of Commissioners to attract and retain the best personnel for the GCSO.
In April 2022, the Board approved a 2.75% Cost of Living Adjustment (COLA) for all county employees, which resulted in the average GCSO employee receiving a salary increase of $1,400. In July 2022, the Board approved $5,000 recruitment and retention bonuses for Detention Center staff. That same month merit raises went into effect for eligible employees, providing the average GCSO employee with a 3.37% raise equaling $1,793.
The night before the 2022 election, November 7, the Board of Commissioners approved recruitment and retention bonuses for all GCSO law enforcement personnel as a preventative measure aimed at retaining employees no matter the outcome of the election. The bonuses ranged from $1,500 to $5,000 depending on the current salary. This bonus was shortly followed two months later with the implementation of “overlap” pay in January 2023. This “overlap” pay eased the county’s transition to a new payroll schedule and in effect, delivered another bonus to GCSO staff at an average of $2,000.
All these initiatives add up to an average of $8,217 in additional compensation for an “average” GCSO Deputy in the last twelve months. However, the Board of Commissioners does not believe their work is done. The draft fiscal year 2023-2024 budget is being developed to make sure that pay for GCSO employees remains competitive in the current market. The United States has seen unprecedented changes in compensation for government employees in the last few years, and Granville County is committed to ensuring that the GCSO and all departments in Granville County government are a preferred destination for the best employees on the market. The upcoming fiscal year 2023-2024 budget is slated to include additional compensation increases and short/long-range improvements to county benefits for all county employees.
For more information on recent enhancements to compensation for GCSO employees, visit the Granville County website.