VIROQUA, Wis. – The Vernon County Public Safety Committee voted to reduce the pay for the chief deputy position at the Vernon County Sheriff’s Office two weeks ago after the discovery of a 2005 county resolution that created the position and set the pay at 90 percent of the sheriff’s pay. You can read our previous story about that meeting here.
In 2005 Vernon County was one of the last counties in the state to still have a sheriff and an undersheriff who were both elected. The county board passed a resolution to create the chief deputy position and eliminate the undersheriff position. Pay for the chief deputy was set at 90 percent of the sheriffs salary. The wage was not part of the county wage scale step system.
The salary for the chief deputy position is currently $92, 469. The sheriff’s salary is currently at $87,753. The Public Safety Committee voted to adjust the pay for the chief deputy back to the level set in that original resolution when the position was created, setting it at 90 percent of the sheriff position, which comes to $78,978. The committee approved a motion to remove the chief deputy salary from the county wage scale system and reduce the current salary to $78,978 by a unanimous voice vote.
On Tuesday, August 1, the General Government Committee also took up the issue of the issue of the chief deputy pay partly because they oversee the Human Resources Department and also because county officials discovered another resolution from 2016 that superseded the 2005 resolution and placed the chief deputy position on the wage scale. The result of the 2016 resolution was the position received regular yearly increases that are standard in the county wage scale. The sheriff’s salary however is not on the wage scale because it is an elected position and increases have to be approved prior to an election and are only increased when the county takes action to increase the it. That meant the chief deputy position surpassed the sheriff’s pay by 2017 and has continued to increase ever since.
Some on the committee questioned why the issue had been forwarded to the General Government Committee when they had already taken action on the issue. Committee member Mary Bringe said she felt the issue should go back to the Public Safety Committee and they could send on to the full county board to approve their action. Administrative Coordinator Cassie Hanan said when the Public Safety Committee they were not aware of the 2016 resolution putting the position on the wage scale.
Chief Deputy Nathan Campbell who currently holds the position was in attendance and pointed out the 2016 resolution was meant to supersede the 2005 resolution.
Board Supervisor Mary Henry who is on the Public Safety Committee was also in attendance said she made calls to former board members and people who were a part of the 2005 resolution to find out what the intent of the resolution was.
“It was the intent of that resolution to help give continuity to that position if a new sheriff was elected,” said Henry. “
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