Madison Co. sheriff asks for more money to pay overtime

MADISON COUNTY, Tenn. — “Since the first of the year, we’ve lost 40 individuals,” Sheriff John Mehr said.

Sheriff Mehr says some have retired, while others have gone to other agencies or left law enforcement completely.

That’s why he asked the County Commission for an additional $100,000 to pay deputies overtime.

“We’ve got to come up with the pay, and we don’t have anything besides a 401k for retirement,” Sheriff Mehr said.

He says the pay is a big reason deputies aren’t staying for more than a couple of years.

“We’re looking at ways to improve the benefit package all the way around to help retain these, in corrections and the patrol and criminal division,” Mehr said.

Sheriff Mehr says those empty 40 positions aren’t just impacting patrol deputies we see in the county and city, but those working at the Criminal Justice Complex too — the court officers and those inside the jail.

He says they need the money to fill those positions and keep the people they already have.

“They’ve never been up to full staff since they built the facility. It was always 30 officers short,” Mehr said about the CJC.

Mehr says the County Commission did approve another 15 employees for the CJC after he took office in 2014, but they were never able to hire for all of the positions.

He also says another obstacle is investing thousands into training officers who leave within a few years.

“You can replace a car, you can replace that, but you can’t replace that person,” Mehr said.

County commissioners approved the $100,000 transfer on Monday. Sheriff Mehr says the funds come from their salaries to pay the overtime.