Town Deputies see salary increase

Danielle Ryan

(9/14) During the September 6 Town meeting, the Board of Commissioners discussed the Frederick County Sheriff’s Office contract for the fiscal 2017 year. Emmitsburg is contracted with the Frederick County Sheriff’s office to provide law enforcement to the town. As members employed by Frederick County, the deputies covering Emmitsburg would be seeing an increase in their salaries for the next fiscal year, as is in line with other Frederick County deputies.

The deputy salary increase is totaled at $28,583 between the two deputies. However, the budget currently accounts for a $247,950 cost per year for both deputies. With the salary increase, the cost for the next year would be $260,603. This would mean that the town would only need to spend an additional $12,600 for unaccounted costs to compensate for the increase in salaries. So, in essence, the budget is only off by approximately $12,600.

Due to the increase seen across all towns monitored under the Frederick County Sheriff’s Office, the town would not be responsible for covering the cost of paying the deputies overtime. The cost of overtime would be covered entirely by Frederick County.

Along with the discussion of the increase in the deputy’s salary, President O’Donnell brought up the discussion of possibly hiring an additional deputy for the next fiscal year in Emmitsburg. After the Emmitsburg Cares meeting, it was determined that the residents within town, as a whole, would like to see an additional deputy patrolling the area. Even when a tax increase was mentioned in order to compensate for the additional cost of a third deputy, residents still expressed their desire to have another deputy to keep the town safe. Overall, residents expressed a need for deputy patrolling during the later hours, when crime and suspicious behavior are at the highest. The possibility of having a part-time deputy to cover more night time hours was discussed, as scheduling is a part of the deputy’s contract. Town Manager Cathy Willets will be reaching out to the Frederick County Sheriff’s Office to further discuss the matter.

The Board accepted the contract unanimously, and Town Manager Willets will be looking into additional information concerning the hiring of a third deputy. She will be in contact with the Unit Supervisor at the Frederick County Sheriff’s Office, and will report back at next month’s meeting.