Thursday, May 9, 2024
The sheriff’s office is having such a problem attracting quality applicants that the department will now pay non-certified recruits to attend training, and will also pay for the training.
The cost to the county could be about $16,000 per applicant, with no guarantee that the officer will successfully complete the training or remain with the county long-term.
In a 4-1 vote, the Commissioners Court approved the request made by Lt. Lynn McDonald during its regular meeting Tuesday. Precinct 4 Commissioner Dave Eagle voted against it.
The plan mirrors a program for jailers that a different Commissioners Court approved a couple of years ago as a way to help jailers move up to higher paying deputy jobs.
McDonald said that two jailers were selected for peace officer certification training. One made it through the training successfully, but the other did not.
The Sheriff’s Office has long had a retention problem. It pre-dates Sheriff Roger Deeds, who is in his third term.
The issue largely has to do with pay, according to Deeds and other county officials. Deputies often get experience in Hood County but then leave to work in counties that will pay them more.
McDonald told commissioners that agencies throughout the nation are experiencing the same problem attracting and retaining quality employees.
He said that the department has had an opening for a patrol deputy since June.
Applicants do not meet the county’s standards, he said, and in many cases they were terminated from other jobs or moved from agency to agency.
Under the plan approved by commissioners for selected applicants, the county will pay the $720 fee for peace officer training at Tarrant County College and about $15,000 in pay for the four-and-a-half to five months the recruits are attending classes.
The classes are at least 40 hours per week – the equivalent of a full-time work week.
Only those who meet the age requirement of 21 or older, pass a background check and are otherwise deemed desirable for hire will be selected for the program and the plan would only be implemented when there are job openings, according to McDonald.
That means that training and pay for non-certified recruits will fit within the department’s budget.
Although there is little or nothing the county could do to force someone to stay employed with the department, McDonald said the county could “possibly” require repayment of the training fee if the recruit leaves after a short time.
McDonald told Precinct 3 Commissioner Bruce White, who had raised a question about recouping fees, that he would confer on the matter with County Attorney Matt Mills.
