FAYETTEVILLE, WV (LOOTPRESS) – Members of the Fayette County Commission assembled for their Regular Session on Wednesday at which pay rates for Fayette County Sheriff’s Department staff was a key agenda issue.
Sheriff Mike Fridley with the Fayette County Sheriff’s Department was in attendance for Wednesday’s meeting, which saw the revisiting of budgetary discussions for the department, some of which were initially presented at a county commission meeting in March.
Compensation sought by the Sheriff included pay raises for the FCSD staff, which comprises secretary and tax deputy positions as well as those of law enforcement officers.
The proposed increase in compensation for Sheriff’s Deputies with the department was approved by the commission along with alterations to the internal rank and promotion system at the department. These changes were made as a means of keeping department employees onboard with the department in an industry which has seen increased levels of turnaround in recent years.
“The reason we asked to consider it was for recruitment and retention purposes. We wanted the ability to try to retain our trained and experienced officers,” said Commissioner Alisson Taylor. “It’s hard to keep them, and we know that’s a problem statewide. We’re just trying to figure out what we can do at the county level to offset that.”
The raise itself comes in the form of an increase in starting salary for Sheriff’s Deputies to $45,720. Additionally, officer promotion and ranking has been expedited to a degree, offering greater opportunity for advancement within the department both professionally and financially.
“Deputy Sheriffs start out with a little bit more now at $45,720. After they’ve been here a year, they come off probation and get a $1,200 raise,” Fayette County Sheriff Mike Fridley tells LOOTPRESS. “Then after that being two years with department, they get a $1,500 raise and are promoted the deputy first class, which used to take five years with the department but now takes a total of two. Then, two years from that point, they become a Corporal automatically.”
Notably, the raise request for department staff members such as secretaries and tax deputies did not move forward during Wednesday’s session, instead being postponed until a later date. The proposed change is expected to see inclusion on the agenda for the next scheduled meeting of the Fayette County Commission on Wednesday, September 6, 2023.
