Slupe

The Butler County salary board on Wednesday will vote on whether to eliminate nine part-time sheriff's deputies while creating five new full-time deputies.

Five of the part-time positions paid $17.85 per hour with no benefits or retirement, and four of them paid $19.84 per hour with individual benefits and retirement. The full-time positions will pay $19.84 per hour with benefits and retirement.

If accepted, the changes will be effective Jan. 1.

Sheriff Mike Slupe said today at a county salary board meeting that the move should save the county $38,000. He noted that the salaries are not going up, but the full-time positions will include benefits such as holiday pay.

“Their salary does not increase; their time off does,” Slupe said.

Commissioner Jim Eckstein, who is on the salary board, said that benefits are not a “soft” cost, and said to Slupe that he cannot say he is saving money while adding benefits.

“I believe it's disingenuous,” Eckstein said.

Slupe said the easiest way to cut costs would be to stop providing services. However, he said more requests come in all the time, and the department has paid about $80,000 in overtime this year.

He said this change would mean the department loses 450 man-hours, but he can live with. Slupe said that part-time deputies are difficult to schedule because they generally have two or three other jobs. With full-time deputies, the department has more control of their schedule.

He noted that he will have five full-time deputies leave the department this year.