Sedgwick County commissioners voted Wednesday to approve a pay increase of almost 9 percent for deputies of the Sedgwick County Sheriff’s Office. This will be the start of a three-year pay increase plan.
Sheriff Jeff Easter took the proposal to commissioners, saying that it is imperative for his department to stay competitive after the City of Wichita approved a 13 percent pay raise for city police officers. Easter said this is a “wage war” with Wichita, and he raised concern about the future of the Sheriff’s Office if the pay raise is not approved.
The pay raise will be 8.7 percent starting this month, and the commission will consider another 2 percent increase in the summer. The proposal calls for increases of 4.65 percent in 2025 and again in 2026. Commissioners were told that reserve funds can handle the initial pay raise, and commissioners plan more discussions later this year on the next three phases of the increase. The cost of the pay raise this year will add $5.4 million to the 2024 budget.
Commissioner Jim Howell said public safety is the number one priority for the county and he agreed the increase is needed, but he voiced a concern about the wage war continuing, saying “I don’t know how we get out of this back-and-forth but we do need to figure out an exit plan, because this cannot continue.” Commissioners voted unanimously to approve the pay increase.
