The case for funding deputies

I would like to take a moment to provide some background information regarding our membership and the position Douglas County Sheriff’s Protective Association and the association’s Sergeant’s Bargaining Unit membership is in as we enter into contract negotiations with Douglas County.

Douglas County’s management has traditionally held a fiscally frugal position by requesting the Douglas County Sheriff’s Office, and the associations to “hold the line” in setting budget priorities.  

The Sheriff’s Office and the associations have consistently taken steps to accommodate Douglas County’s fiscal strategies to limit government growth by keeping a status quo as much as possible or reasonable.  There were five years where the employees of Douglas County did not receive any raises in an effort to “hold the line.” Douglas County’s management strategy regarding limited government is no longer sustainable with regard to Sheriff’s Office’s public safety resources in the opinion of the associations’ membership

Association members are currently working under a contract with Douglas County which is in effect from July 1, 2017, to June 30.  Over the period of the five-year contract, which expires June 30, there have been significant changes that have impacted our community in positive and negative ways.  According to the Douglas County Assessor’s Office, during the last five years, Douglas County has seen the housing market value increase approximately 56.47 percent.  Research also indicates that the cost of living in Douglas County is nearly 13 percent higher than any surrounding community.

The reported resident population of Douglas County in 1980 was 19,421 people.  The reported resident population of Douglas County as of 2020 was 49,088 people.  In the current fiscal year, the sheriff’s office is budgeted for 112 sworn full-time equivalent positions.  Of those, 107 sworn full-time positions are filled and there are currently five unfilled sworn positions.  

According to the Federal Bureau of Investigations this is far below the national average for sworn officers to community population .  Douglas County’s current sworn officer to population ratio is currently below the FBI’s national average ratio for sworn officers to population.  The Sheriff’s Office and association members of have, over the past decades, managed to provide exceptional public safety services to the community by doing more with less.  

Since 2015, the sheriff’s office has suffered the loss of 20 valuable sworn deputies who transferred to other law enforcement agencies because of low pay and inadequate benefits being provided by Douglas County.  Douglas County taxpayers paid an average training expense of approximately $75,000 per sworn officer lost, not including salary and benefits, to train the sworn officers who resigned to pursue better pay and benefits elsewhere.  Listed below are several examples demonstrating the pay disparity between the Sheriff’s Office and other local law enforcement agencies.

The unfortunate reality is that the sheriff’s office is experiencing difficulty retaining high-quality well trained sworn peace officers.  The community of Douglas County has lost talented, professional, and well-trained sworn peace officers to other communities due to the underfunded salary and benefits being offered by Douglas County.  Additionally, recruiting and retaining quality candidates to be sworn peace officers is exponentially more difficult when substandard salary and benefits are offered to perform the duties of a peace officer in our current times.  Association members and applicants to become Douglas deputies are faced with the decision of serving Douglas County or serving another community that offers 15-25 percent higher pay to a new sworn peace officer.  

Recent societal trends, including an increase in violence directed at law enforcement and increasing crime trends in metropolitan areas have brought focus to the importance of Community Oriented Policing.  The membership strongly support and have consistently practiced Community Oriented Policing.  One of the most important tenants of Community Oriented Policing is that members of the law enforcement community be part of and live in the community they serve.  Unfortunately, a tipping point has been reached where the membership cannot afford to be part of the community of Douglas County because of the low salary and benefits offered by Douglas County’s management.

The association membership recognize and appreciate the support we receive from the community members of Douglas County.  The unyielding and heartfelt support we receive on a daily basis from the residents of Douglas County, inspires our membership with the desire to be neighbors, friends and participants in the community we protect and serve.  It is a painful reality that many of our members, especially our most recently hired members, cannot afford financially live in Douglas County because of the current salary and benefits offered by Douglas County’s management.  

The community of Douglas County is recovering from a global pandemic, and it is seeing a changing economy, which includes a troubling increase in inflation.  Douglas County has weathered these storms and will continue to prosper in the future.  Recently Douglas County was recognized as “being on the way to a $4 billion dollar value.”  Additionally, Douglas County merchants finished 2020 with a “Big Bang” which has resulted in Douglas County running 13.3 percent ahead of the fiscal year to date with approximately $496 million dollars .  There are also signs that Douglas County’s hospitality and gaming industry is well on the road to recovery and continuing based upon information provided by the American Gaming Association indicating U.S. casinos will likely break financial record in 2021 .

The association membership is hopeful Douglas County’s management will recognize this is not the time to “hold the line” or maintain a status quo with regard to funding a fair and appropriate salary and benefits for the committed sworn peace officers serving this community.  The fair and appropriate salary, benefits and contract members hopes to negotiate with Douglas County’s management will insure the sheriff’s office has the ability to retain and recruit the highest quality professional peace officers to serve the Douglas County community.

Justin Fricke is president of the Douglas County Sheriff’s Protective Association