LUBBOCK, Texas (KCBD) – Lubbock County Sheriff Kelly Rowe is urging county commissioners to reconsider adopting another no-new-revenue tax rate before October, saying his office has reached a level he described as “critical mass.”
Rowe raised those concerns during one of the initial budget workshops with the Commissioner’s Court in June, citing staffing shortages, a widening pay gap with other agencies, and a detention center at risk of losing compliance with state jail standards.
Pay gap driving deputies to other agencies
Rowe said his top priority this budget cycle is salaries, as the office struggles to retain experienced deputies and recruit new ones.
“The key thing here is we’ve got to stem this bleeding of experienced veteran people over to other agencies,” Rowe said. “The ability that they have created to laterally transfer people over much higher pay ranges is a killer.”
Starting pay for a Lubbock County Sheriff’s deputy is $56,800, compared to $70,000 for starting officers with the Lubbock Police Department. Chief Administrator Dan Corbin gave an example of what that difference could look like for more experienced officers doing the same job, just in a different department.
“One of our Metro officers went over to the PD, $25,000 raise, swapped badges, he’s still in Metro,” Corbin said.
Vacancies and outside agency reliance
Rowe said the office is at an unprecedented 17 vacancies. He said he has never previously struggled to hire patrol deputies, but several positions have been open for eight weeks.
He said he lost his top crime scene investigator to better pay elsewhere and now must ask the Lubbock Police Department for assistance on major scenes in the county. He also said he has had to request help from the Department of Public Safety.
“I have to reach out to the Department of Public Safety and ask for help when that’s not what happens in large organizations,” Rowe said. “The Department of Public Safety is here to support the needs of the rural communities and assist them where they are on limited resources.”
Compensation study and budget shortfall
A county compensation study found that screening officers, deputies, detention officers, investigators, and staff sergeants all fall between $6,000 and $8,000 short of the midpoint when compared to agencies across the state.
County Auditor Kathy Williams said the general fund budget for this year is already projected to come in $9 million short — without any new positions added. Total budget requests are projected to produce a $40 million deficit.
After back-to-back years of a no-new-revenue tax rate, Rowe said funding has fallen too far behind to sustain current operations.
“Crime is not going down,” Rowe said. “You’re still going to be continuing to arrest people. The citizens are going to continue to expect we’re successfully prosecuting these people and that they’re out of society facing a penalty for whatever crimes they’ve committed.”
Detention center compliance at risk
Rowe said the Lubbock County Detention Center is “teetering” on losing its compliance with the Texas Commission on Jail Standards. He says secure electronics in the jail are reaching their end of life and need replacing.
“I don’t know what messaging I can put out, I don’t know what I can get for you guys to understand, we have got to address these issues,” Rowe said.
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