Saturday, June 22, 2024–9:00 p.m.
-David Crowder, WRGA News-
After losing a couple of officers to Bartow County, Floyd County Police Chief Mark Wallace and members of the Floyd County Public Safety Committee asked for a salary study to be conducted to see how the county stacks up when compared to other law enforcement agencies. On Thursday, the results of that study were shared with the committee.
For police, the study looked at salaries in Rome, Calhoun, Gordon County, Cartersville, Bartow County, Emerson, Adairsville, Cedartown, Polk County, and Berry College Police. The average is $46,060. The Floyd County Police Department has a starting salary of $43,900, which is about $2,100 behind the average.
The starting salary at the Floyd County Jail is $38,105. The average for Polk, Gordon, Jackson, Carroll, Spalding, Rockdale, and Barrow Counties is $40,188.
The starting salary for Rome-Floyd E-911 is $36,825. The average for the other counties in the study–Polk, Gordon, Whitfield, Paulding, Bartow, Spalding, and Barrow Counties—is $37,516.
According to Floyd County Public Safety Division Director John Blaylock, the salary comparison for corrections officers is split into two parts.
“If you recall, the sheriff and the prison gave up three positions last year to fund a program in which all of their interior officers, jailers, and corrections, are receiving a $2,000 stipend on top of their base salaries,” he said. “So, that’s why there are two categories for corrections, so it is a fair comparison.”
The starting salary for corrections officers at the Floyd County Prison is $39,600, which is $1,863 below the average. The starting salary for a Floyd County detail officer is $37,600, which is $3,873 below the average. The study looked at Spalding, Carroll, Athens, Bulloch, Hall, and Jackson Counties. The average does not include state prisons.
According to Floyd County Commissioner Scotty Hancock, who serves on the public safety committee, if the county would not have rolled back the millage rate last year and implemented a 2-percent cost of living increase, Floyd County would be right on target with the average.
“It’s off, but it’s not bad,” he said. “Are we going to able to fix it this year? I don’t know. We are meeting and talking about that now, but if it’s off by $1.2 million, and that’s a reoccurring fund, we are going to have to raise the millage rate. Or if we stay at the rollback rate and don’t roll it back this year, did the market enough to make up the difference we are going to need? That’s what the commission is talking about and dealing with right now.”
Floyd County Manager Jamie McCord noted that a referendum on the November ballot would allow counties and municipalities to implement a one-cent sales tax to offset property taxes.
“Whatever we do this year has to be good because next year if this passes and I believe it will, we will have to predict what that one penny is to roll back,” he said. “Then we have the new House Bill 581 law that says you’re evaluation can go up no more than 3 percent in a given year, so our hands are getting tied on being able to address some of this stuff. It doesn’t matter if the digest goes 20 percent, you can only collect 3 percent on a homestead property.”
Commissioner Rhonda Wallace believes the county must do what is best for everyone, not just the property owner, but for employees who need a raise.
“We have to take care of our people,” she said. “That has got to be the number one reason for anything we do. So, whatever it takes for us to increase our people’s salaries and take care of our people, that’s what I want to do.”
Currently, the Floyd County Police Department has three vacancies. However, there have been two candidates that have recently graduated from the basic law enforcement academy. There are three vacancies at the prison, and the sheriff’s office is fully staffed.