Many sheriffs serving Mid-Missouri counties are now beginning their second year on the job. While protecting the public from criminal activity remains their top priority, they all say keeping a well-trained staff to address increased demands for service is the best way to keep criminals at bay.
"The biggest issue I have right now is the recruitment and retention of employees," Cole County Sheriff John Wheeler said. "We have a huge issue with salary in our department. I continue to work with the County Commission, but we all have to do better at solving this problem and not continue to 'kick the can down the road.' The longer we wait, the bigger the issue to try to fix."
Wheeler said his department also continues to face an increase in law enforcement expectations alongside limited resources.
"The resources I speak of are both personnel and funding," he said. "We are expected to be cops, marriage counselors, psychologists, medical first responders and security guards. As law enforcement is asked to do more with less, we are also asked to do so with less funding."
Osage County Sheriff Mike Bonham echoed Wheeler's thoughts.
"The biggest challenge has been the budget," Bonham said. "We had some staggering numbers that we had to overcome, but we have a good business plan set up for the future to help us do everything we can to bridge the gap and to get as much out of every penny that we can."
Bonham said his department generally has one or two deputies out on patrol at any given moment, with more pitching in when needed, to cover the 613-square-mile county with more than 13,500 permanent residents.
"I need every patrol person I've got," Bonham said. "We have other agencies often taking calls when we are overloaded. The chief deputy and myself are also out taking calls. We've been allotted seven deputies, and we now are fully staffed."
Recruiting, hiring and retaining top-quality staff, especially in the jail division, have been daily challenges for Callaway County Sheriff Clay Chism.
"Due to Callaway's proximity to Boone and Cole counties, it is cumbersome to compete with their respective law enforcement agencies of Boone County, Columbia, Cole County and Jefferson City, as our salaries are substantially lower," Chism said. "I am working diligently alongside the county commission to rectify this issue, whereas, at the beginning of the year, there will be a $1,000-$2,000 salary increase for deputies and corrections officers. Even with the increases, though, we will still fall behind Boone and Cole county law enforcement agencies."
The starting salary for a corrections officer in Callaway County is $28,000 a year and $33,000 for a road deputy. In Cole County, it's $29,000 to start at the county jail and $35,000 for a starting road deputy.
In Osage County, Bonham said, the sheriff's department is conducting a salary study in efforts to bring the department to a competitive level.
Going into next year, Chism said, the increasing deputy call load in relation to deputy staffing levels will become more challenging.
"In 2017, we handled 16 percent more calls than we handled in 2016," he said. "The current budget, as set by our County Commission, only allows for 15 road deputies to handle these calls - spread out over 842 square miles, serving 44,000 residents. Many times, only three road deputies are on duty for the entire county.
"One cannot be blind to the challenges the call to staffing ratio creates and will continue to create. The Fulton Police Department handles a similar call load in a small geographic area with approximately 20 road officers. That comparison demonstrates the staffing levels the sheriff's office contends with."
Chism added: "I will continue to have weekly budget discussions with the County Commission in efforts to increase our staffing levels, which inherently will allow for faster response times, more deputy visibility and more efficient investigations."