Oconee County Sheriff Mike Crenshaw Discusses Sheriff’s Office Budget For Next Fiscal Year
(Seneca, SC)—————Earlier this year, Oconee County Sheriff Mike Crenshaw said that two budget priorities during the upcoming fiscal year would be increases in salaries for the agency as well as the addition of one Uniform Patrol Deputy.
The Sheriff said after a presentation this week during a luncheon of the Oconee County Chamber of Commerce that an additional deputy will not be in the budget but there will be a 4% pay increase for employees of the agency.
While the Sheriff is grateful for the pay increase in the upcoming budget that begins July 1st, the Sheriff is concerned about salaries compared with other Upstate law enforcement agencies, especially as it pertains to future officer recruitment.
The Sheriff said he has had conversations with County Administrator Amanda Brock and County Council to allow new employees to be able to get the 4% salary increase. Even with the salary increase, in regards to pay per hour, the Sheriff said the Oconee County Sheriff’s Office is still behind the Pickens and Anderson County Sheriff’s Office. The Sheriff said he is fortunate that he is not losing deputies from the Sheriff’s Office here to either Anderson County or Pickens County.
The concern for the Sheriff is the fact that new applicants who have graduated from a college or university are not applying with the Oconee County Sheriff’s Office but are applying with other agencies, such as Pickens County or Anderson County, due to better starting salaries.
The Sheriff says that he is grateful to County Council for the 4% pay increase and that should put starting salaries for new deputies at around $35,000 or $36,000 once those officers are certified.
The Sheriff says that he will continue to speak with County Council in the future concerning additional staffing.