Members of the Porter County Council had a message for the dozens of deputies from the Porter County Sheriff’s Department who showed up in uniform for Tuesday’s budget meeting, which included discussion of substantial raises — some 10 percent or more — for the department’s officers.
The raises will come but not until the end of the budget hearing in late October when the council has a better picture of the county’s finances for the coming year.
“I don’t know where we’re going to be at the end but I’m pretty sure it’s going to come to prioritizing, and public safety is a priority to me,” said Councilman Jeremy Rivas, D-2nd.
Sheriff David Reynolds gave a presentation comparing his department’s salaries with those for law enforcement officers in Valparaiso and Portage. Also included in the figures was the ratio of officers to residents for each jurisdiction, square miles of patrol area, and the number of officers added to each department since 2000.
All of the figures showed sheriff’s deputies handling more calls in a larger geographical area with a lower number of law enforcement officers per population than officers with the county’s two largest cities.
“We’re not disparaging the city of Valparaiso or Portage’s police departments, but there’s no comparison in what we do,” Reynolds said.
The proposed raises would increase the chief’s salary from $65,696 to $73,196, and a probation patrol officer’s take-home pay from $37,507 to $45,507. A sergeant’s salary, for comparison, would go from $54,166 to $57,166.
After the increases, all of the salaries with the exception of the chief’s would be higher than officers’ counterparts from Valparaiso or Portage.
The council will handle raises at the end of the budget, Council President Dan Whitten, D-at-large, said, when the council has more of a grasp of its financial situation.
“There’s no question that this council has some interest in putting money into public safety and bringing up salaries,” he said. “I’m behind you on it so we want to try to find the money to make it happen.”
The cost of training new officers only to have them leave for other departments and the need for higher salaries to attract good candidates merit higher salaries, said Councilman Mike Jessen, R-4th District.
The council approved a general fund budget for the sheriff’s department for almost $5.2 million, without almost $330,000 in raises.
The council also will find out next week how much revenue the foundation from the proceeds of the county hospital is generating. The council will need to discuss how to handle those funds.
“It’s going to be quite good news,” Whitten said.
County officials are working with the state to determine how to treat that revenue and what it might mean for the county’s tax levy. Porter County is the first county in the state to create a foundation to handle large-scale proceeds after legislation took effect last year allowing the county to do so; once all of the funds have rolled off from other investments, the foundation will hold $147 million.
“This is a new problem for them,” said Councilman Bob Poparad, D-at-large. “No one else has a foundation.”
Amy Lavalley is a freelance reporter for the Post-Tribune.
