Fentress Commissioners Set Work Session Over Sheriffs Staffing Concerns

Fentress County Commissioners will hold a work session on pay within the Sheriffs Department after a department official told the board Monday night it was operating on a skeleton crew.

The Sheriffs Department currently operating some eight deputies short of a full roster. Officer Rockford Garrett said three officers are leaving in the next few weeks, recruited by higher pay at adjacent departments. Fentress County begins deputies at $15 per hour, at least $2 less than most other department. County Finance Director Tyler Arms said the problem goes beyond law enforcement.

“We’ve done a salary study to try to help this,” Arms said. “I think that the employees have probably been given more raises in the past three to four years than what they’ve ever gotten. You guys have definitely put forth a huge effort into making that better. But it’s not just the sheriff’s department. I mean, ambulance struggles to retain. Solid waste struggles to retain. Sheriff and jail struggle to retain. It’s a constant turnover. And I think it’s just a mindset of service. People don’t look at this as a service to their community anymore. They look at it as money, and they’re going to chase the dollar.”

Arms estimated a $2 pay raise and filling all the Sheriffs Department positions would put the county some $200,000 over budget.

The work session is set for January 8.