Weakley Co. sheriff, longest serving in state, gets raise
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WEAKLEY COUNTY, Tenn. — The longest-serving sheriff in the state of Tennessee is finally getting what he deserves, according to Weakley County commissioners. Sheriff Mike Wilson has been the sheriff of Weakley County since 1982. The Weakley County Commission voted unanimously Tuesday to increase his salary by 10 percent, almost $8,000 a year, to compensate for his work with the county jail workhouse. “We’ve been thinking about this for a really long time. Mike has done an outstanding job for the county,” said James Westbrook, one of the commissioners who proposed the resolution to the commission. “He’s just done an outstanding job, and we think he ought to be rewarded for it.” The program allows inmates to serve nonprofits, churches and the county with free labor that helps the inmates work time off their sentences. “We had over 50,000 man hours of service from inmates back to the cities and counties and nonprofits of this county, and he takes a good bit of responsibility,” Westbrook said. The new salary takes effect immediately, according to the resolution. “I would say that there were several commissioners that felt like Sheriff Wilson has gone above and beyond the duties of sheriff, not only in the workhouse but in several other aspects,” Weakley County Mayor Jake Bynum said. The sheriff said the decision Tuesday night would not have impacted his commitment to the job but that he is grateful to be recognized for his hard work. “If they hadn’t had done it, I mean, it goes on like it always has, you know?” Sheriff Mike Wilson said. “It was not going to make any difference, but they did do it and I’m grateful to it.” According to the Weakley County Finance Department, Weakley County is one of the last counties with a workhouse program in the state to compensate their sheriff for the extra work. Other West Tennessee counties that have workhouse programs are Madison, Haywood and Gibson counties.
