By Terry Witt – Spotlight Senior Reporter

                Levy County Commissioner John Meeks won support from his fellow commissioners Tuesday to raise the starting pay of sworn deputy sheriffs to $50,000 annually in an effort to make the county more competitive in the job market.

            Sheriff Bobby McCallum came to a commission budget hearing asking to raise the pay of sworn road deputies, correctional officers, and school resource officers from $45,000 to $48,000, a substantial increase, but Meeks wanted to go higher.

            Meeks tried to negotiate with the sheriff to commit to no wage hike in 2024 if deputies got starting pay of $50,000 now, but McCallum said he couldn’t foresee the future and respectfully turned down the offer.

            The commissioner finally gave up on getting a firm commitment from McCallum for absolutely no pay raises next year.

            “I’m willing to help out this year and save some next year,” Meeks said.

            “All I can do is pledge my best to you. I can’t be absolutely certain,” McCallum said.

            “That’s all I’m asking you for,” Meeks said.

            Commission Chairman Matt Brooks told the sheriff the county commission has always given him what he requested for public safety funding in the last six or seven years.

            “Sheriff, you know this board for many years has always made public safety funding a priority. We’re going to continue to do that even going to $50,000 to be more competitive,” Brooks said. “Tell your folks thank you very much. We know it’s getting hard out there. It’s not getting any easier – what we experienced this week in Williston – the world is getting worse and worse. We appreciate you putting it all on the line.”

            The sheriff said he appreciated the surprise increase in wages for sworn personnel.

            “We appreciate you all and our employees – this will be a shock to them,” McCallum said.

            Wage Competition

            The sheriff said his department is competing against higher wages being offered in neighboring counties and in state government agencies. The Florida Highway Patrol is raising starting pay to $55,000. Citrus County is increasing starting pay to $55,000 for deputies, Marion County to $53,500 and Alachua County to $55,000.

            “We can see already. We compete with Marion, Citrus, and Alachua counties for law enforcement personnel and correctional personnel. That’s what we’re up against,” McCallum said.

            The sheriff said he is losing a lieutenant at the end of July to the new Florida Game Commission due to the pay issue. He said he heard today that four deputies were looking at the possibility of applying for higher-paying jobs in neighboring counties.

            He said his personnel budget has a step plan that gives personnel higher pay for every year of experience. The step plan must be adjusted upward when higher starting pay is offered to avoid compression, a term that refers to losing wage separation between lower and higher-paid employees when raises occur.

            McCallum was tentatively approved for a total budget of $19.8 million. The additional $2,000 for each sworn deputy will add another $400,000 to $500,000 of additional cost to the budget.

            The sheriff pointed out that not all of that money in the budget will come from local property tax funding. He said $2.5 million will come from a variety of other revenue sources unrelated to property taxes.

            Bronson, Fanning Springs Costly

            One of those sources is the Inglis City Commission that pays the sheriff’s office $313,000 annually to protect the city. The money pays for the salaries and benefits of four deputy sheriffs for around-the-clock protection 365 days a year.

            He said Bronson, which like Inglis has no police department, has shown no interest in paying the sheriff’s office for protection even though the town has a high demand for law enforcement services. He said Fanning Springs also doesn’t pay the sheriff’s office for law enforcement protection.

            “It’s getting very taxing and costly to cover the cities and towns in this county. Bronson is a huge expense for the sheriff’s office. They would like to make us their building and zoning and code enforcement and all of that. I refuse to do that. I don’t have any responsibility to do code enforcement,” McCallum said. “The call load in the Town of Bronson is tremendous. I did send them a copy of the contract we have with Inglis – let them start looking at taking a small step for what we do here. I say that with all due respect for the citizens of Bronson and the town council, but it’s just fact and I catch it from Inglis and our contacts there – why do we have to pay you if you give Bronson and Fanning Springs free service? I told them it’s because your charter (in Inglis) requires you to have it.”

            McCallum said he hasn’t heard back from Bronson. The town council said it can’t afford to pay for its own police department or pay the sheriff’s office to do that job.

            The sheriff said he focused on his overall budget at the hearing on Tuesday and the need to keep sworn deputies in the Levy County Sheriff’s Office by offering them competitive pay, but he said his infrastructure needs are just as great as personnel.

            Space Needs

            Commissioner Rock Meeks said he is concerned about all the building space the sheriff doesn’t have at its office in Bronson.

            “If you take a tour of some of the projects that are up and coming that have to be there, it’s a lot, a whole lot and he isn’t asking for any of that. I know you all are doing your best to get by but at some point, all that’s going to come to a head at one time,” Meeks said.

            McCallum said he has run out of evidence storage space. He said evidence must be kept in a cool area or climate-controlled area and he has no additional evidence storage space in criminal cases.

            Brooks: 4 percent Sales Tax Initiative

            Brooks mentioned that Marion County implemented a 4 percent sales tax initiative to help fund public safety equipment needs for law enforcement, fire rescue, Emergency Medical Services, and road rehabilitation. He wondered if that might work in Levy County and asked staff to pull together some numbers. He said the program wouldn’t be used to fund any current needs but could be something for possible use in the future.

            Commissioner John Meeks said he was 99 percent certain the county couldn’t collect more sales taxes. He said two years ago the county fought in Tallahassee to have the ability to bring forth an additional sales tax for infrastructure through a voter referendum. Brooks said he would attempt to verify what Meeks was saying.

            Levy County has levied a 1-cent sales tax for more than two decades. The money was initially pledged to pay back bonds that financed the construction of county government buildings, but when those bonds were paid off, the county continued to levy the sales tax. The money continues to flow into the county’s operating budget to be used for any purpose.

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Board of County Commission Regular Meeting June 20, 2023; Posted June 21, 2023