SCOTT SHERIFF HOPES TO BOOST SALARIES

BENTON -- Scott County Sheriff Bill Ferrell started the new year with a plan to boost morale in his department.

But better morale could cost the county some money.

Last week, Ferrell asked the Scott County Commission to approve a $500,000 budget for the department. That compares with a budget of $402,000 approved by the commission last year.

Most of the money Ferrell requested will fund salaries for 25 deputies and staff. And all of the requested $98,000 increase would go toward improving salaries. The current starting salary for a deputy is $22,000.

"The changes try to bring the salaries at the jail up to comparable levels with other agencies our size," Ferrell said.

Another way he plans to boost morale is by offering officer ranks and promotions.

During the year, Ferrell plans to establish the ranks of lieutenant, sergeant and corporal within the department, ranks that exist within most police and sheriff's departments.

"This is the first time we've tried this," he said, adding that previously the highest rank had been chief deputy. "It helps with morale and the chain of command. As small departments grow, there's not time to supervise and see that the correct job gets done. Now we can reward people."

The department currently employs 24 deputies but hopes to add another officer this year.

The new officer will work nights on a rotating basis. Currently, the office is not staffed around the clock. Officers who do work the overnight shift now spend at least two nights on call.

"Scheduling is a big problem for us," Ferrell said, adding that deputies don't follow a strict routine. "The same guy who makes the arrest today will be serving civil process papers tomorrow."

Since the department is small, Ferrell said none of the chores at the jail are hired out. "We work our prisoners," he said. Inmates complete tasks which vary from laundry to cooking for the 40-odd prisoners.

The jail is filled to capacity almost daily, which means that additional prisoners must be taken to neighboring jails at a cost of $20-$45 a day.

"We recover some of that from the state if they are sentenced to a penitentiary," Ferrell said.

In April 1995, voters rejected a 25-cent bond issue that would have funded a new jail. The construction of a new jail was one of the biggest issues discussed by the commission during 1994 and 1995.

Over the past two weeks, Commissioners Bob Kielhofner and Walter Bizzell have sat behind a desk scattered with pencils, papers and adding machines attempting to rank the funding requests of other elected officials.

They are still putting the finishing touches on the more than $3 million budget. It should be complete by next week.

The Scott County Commission meets twice weekly, on Tuesday and Thursday mornings, at the courthouse in Benton.