El Paso County Sheriff asks for $600k from County for deputy raises
EL PASO COUNTY, Colo. (KRDO) - El Paso County Sheriff Joseph Roybal says his deputies are among the worst paid on the Front Range. He asked the El Paso County Board of County Commissioners (BOCC) for $600K to increase salaries.
Sheriff Roybal says if County Commissioners approve his request, he'll match the $600k with funds generated by the public safety tax.
In all, it would add up to $1.2 million. Senior deputies would get $3,000 and new recruits would get $500 pay raises.
| County | Deputy Minimum Salary | Deputy Max Salary | County Population |
| El Paso | $72,696.00 | $92,664.00 | 730,395 |
| Douglas | $78,988.00 | $108,365.00 | 357,978 |
| Pueblo | $63,432.00 | $95,124.00 | 168,162 |
"The community deserves to have their deputy sheriffs compensated equitably because it keeps them here, and in the long run, it saves money," Sheriff Joseph Roybal told KRDO13 Investigates.
Sheriff Roybal said the El Paso County Sheriff's Office loses, on average, five to seven people per month due to retirement or them leaving for a higher-paying job in another agency.
"It's almost $8,400 for a new recruit, $8,400. We had well over 100 new hires this year," Sheriff Roybal said. The department wants to focus on keeping the deputies they've spent money on training in El Paso County.
In the long run, Sheriff Roybal said he hopes this pay increase will allow them to shrink their recruiting class, saving money on training costs, that is the cost of training, and recruit salary while they are training.
If the BOCC votes to pass the pay increase, then pay for senior deputies would rise above what Pueblo County's maximum deputy salary pays.
When KRDO13 Investigates asked if the El Paso County Sheriff's Office had a staffing or retention problem the sheriff's office said they did not. In fact, they're actually overstaffed by one deputy.
It's expected that the El Paso County Board of County Commissioners will approve this pay raise. Three of the five commissioners spoke in favor of the Sheriff during Tuesday morning's meeting. A final vote is expected by the end of the year.
