Archives for August 2002

All things being equal, Donley County deputies qualify for welfare, according to the guidelines of the Texas Department of Human Services (TDHS).

Given a hypothetical deputy with two children and a spouse, the $18,680 salary Donley County pays is not enough to keep the family from getting public assistance, said Julie Morris with the local TDHS office.

“He would definitely qualify for food stamps,” Morris said, “and depending on the age of the children, they would qualify for Medicaid.”

Other factors would have to be looked at to determine eligibility of actual deputies, Morris said. Those items would include if the wife worked and what other sources of income are available. It is possible that a deputy could qualify for more assistance based on individual circumstances.

Morris’ comments confirm statements made in recent days that sheriff’s deputies in Donley County earn “welfare wages,” and Sheriff Butch Blackburn wants the problem addressed. He is asking the county to increase his budget to pay three deputies a salary of $24,000 and pay the chief deputy $25,000. He also wants his salary and that of his dispatcher/jailers to be increased.

“I think it’s time Donley County gets into the 21st century and realize that law enforcement is a profession,” Blackburn said.

The sheriff, who had sought higher salaries last year but was refused, recently returned from a sheriff’s association meeting where the disparity with other counties stood out.

“Sheriffs were griping about only being able make $30,000 or $40,000 per year, and I was too embarrassed to tell them what I make. I just had to walk on to another conversation.”

As yet, commissioners have made no commitment to raise salaries in the sheriff’s department.

Donley County deputies earn approximately $8.98 per hour based on a 40-hour workweek, and dispatcher/jailers earn less than $7 per hour. Both jobs pay overtime and include health insurance, but when payroll tax and retirement deductions are made, deputies take home less than $16,000 annually.

Other jobs around the county which do not involve the risk of life pay more than what deputies receive. Groundskeepers at Clarendon College start at $19,000 to $20,000 plus benefits, and maintenance men with professional licenses earn upwards of $25,000 plus benefits at Clarendon ISD. The sanitation man who drives the trash truck for the City of Clarendon makes more than $19,000 plus benefits.

The maintenance man at the Medical Center Nursing Home earns $11.10 per hour, and Donley County Hospital District Assistant Administrator Holly Eads said the deputies’ salaries are unfair.

“Those people need more money,” Eads said. “They have critical jobs to perform, and I’d be happy to put in my share.”

Dispatcher/jailers are also paid less than other positions which require less responsibility. A beginning janitor at CC earns $7 per hour. A janitor and a cafeteria worker at CISD earn $7 per hour after their first year. The housekeeping supervisor at MCNH earns $7.43 per hour. Most city employees start out at $7 per hour with a 50¢ increase after six months and typically get annual percentage increases.

Blackburn was not surprised by the disparities.

“I think they [the other entities] just care about their employees more, and it shows,” he said.

The county is considering enacting a special debt reduction tax which would bring in money to pay for the courthouse renovation notes and would free up money in the general fund for other priorities. But there is no indication that that extra money would be used for salary increases in the sheriff’s department.

County officials say they are waiting to see if the City of Clarendon will be willing to increase the amount they pay for police protection before they consider setting the sheriff’s budget. The current contract between the city and the county is $100,000. Blackburn presented two proposals to Clarendon Aldermen last week – one calling for a $20,000 increase and another with a $40,000 increase but with increased services. No indication has been given that the county would consider matching either increase.

An Amarillo Globe-News report on Tuesday said Armstrong, Carson, and Gray counties pay deputies $25,000 or more. Briscoe County pays $21,000, and Collingsworth and Wheeler counties pay about $19,000. Blackburn said $24,000 is the average for deputies in counties with populations similar to Donley.

Blackburn says he understands the position commissioners are in with the budget, but he said good intentions and warm comments are not enough to help his officers.

“That pat on your back doesn’t feed your kids. ‘We wish we could do something’ doesn’t pay your bills.”

Deputies and dispatchers with the Donley County Sheriff’s Department will get significant raises if the proposed 2002-2003 county budget is approved next month.

The budget, which was filed in the county clerk’s office this week, meets the request of Sheriff Butch Blackburn and will raise deputies’ salaries from $18,680 per year to $24,000 per year with the chief deputy making $25,000.

Dispatcher/jailers’ wages will be increased from $6.97 per hour to $8.  The sheriff’s salary will increase from $20,834.88 to $28,500.

Blackburn had been very vocal about the “welfare wages” his department was earning, and several citizens had rallied to support his case in recent weeks. Now the sheriff says he is pleased with the raises.

“I feel better about it now,” Blackburn said. “I just want to thank everybody who supported us and what they did for us. I think the city and county both went to great efforts to do this.”

The sheriff said he had received wide support for his department from around the county.

“I have not had one person say anything to me against it,” he said.

The increase in the county budget comes after a budget workshop at the City of Clarendon last week in which the Board of Aldermen stated its intention to raise the city’s payment to the county for police protection from $100,000 to $130,000.

“We’re still working on the city budget,” said Alderman Janice Knorpp, “but it is the intention of the city to give them more money.”

Knorpp said she thought the sheriff’s deputies needed a raise and said other local employees are also working at food stamp levels and need raises also.

“But I realize this is a different job where there are dangerous situations,” she said.

County Judge Jack Hall acknowledged the city’s help with the salary increases.

“The sheriff’s department raises were made possible by the $30,000 contributed by the city,” Hall said. “We then filled in the rest of the things the sheriff had requested.”

Hall said that while he had not had any calls on the issue of deputy salaries, the commissioners’ court itself had several.

“The court has had great support for it. We have had a lot of people say that’s what we needed to do.”

Blackburn’s proposed budgets for the sheriff’s department and jail include salary and overtime increases totaling $45,892.83.

Other county officials and employees are given a three percent raise in the proposed budget. Several elected officials, including the judge and county commissioners, declined to accept their raises.

Commissioners are also proposing slight increases in the county ad valorem rate from 0.288297 to 0.293224 and in the county special (or road and bridge) rate from 0.084637 to 0.085873.

A special debt component tax rate has also been proposed of 0.09745 to generate revenue to pay the courthouse restoration notes and the lease of patrol cars.

“It’s just a sound business practice,” Hall said of the debt component rate. “It guarantees that you have the money to cover your debts.”

The county’s largest debt in the general fund is the courthouse project. Payments on those tax notes will total $101,587.50 in 2002-2003.

“You just have to look at the courthouse as a project we’ve started and are committed to finishing,” Hall said. “We signed a contract with the state in 2000 to do that.”

The total proposed increase in county taxes will amount to an increase of $26.35 per year on the average local homestead.

Sundown this weekend will be show time at the Sandell Drive-In as the lights go on for the first time since 1984.

John Earl Morrow has been working for the past several weeks to get the theatre ready for shows again. New projection equipment has been installed, and moviegoers will listen to the soundtrack over their FM radios.

A new coat of pink paint has the façade of the theatre, which was built in 1955, looking new again. A new ticket booth has been installed, and many hours of work have gone into the concession stand.

Normal nights of operation will be Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, but Morrow says he will be open on Monday night as well for Labor Day weekend.

For its re-opening, the Sandell will show a double feature. “Signs,” starring Mel Gibson, will be the first show starting at dusk, followed by “Joshua” from Epiphany Films.

Tickets will cost $4.50 for adults and $3.50 for children under 12 and seniors over 65.

A rash of vandalism in downtown Clarendon has left no clues and has sheriff’s deputies frustrated.

Sheriff Butch Blackburn said someone has been throwing rocks at vehicles and buildings but said no leads have turned up in the cases.

Last Monday night windows were broken in four vehicles – two on Kearney Street, one on Third Street, and one on Fourth Street.

Those crimes were followed by an attack on the Post Office Saturday night in which two panes of glass were broken.

“Most of these are happening late at night,” Blackburn said, “but the Post Office was done before 10 p.m.”

The sheriff said vandals attempted to knock out another window on Kearney Street but that the dirt clod didn’t break through the glass.

An investigation is ongoing.

“If any of the public saw anything or sees anything in the future, we would appreciate a call,” Blackburn said.

The Donley County Sheriff’s Office can be reached at 874-3533.

WASHINGTON – The Federal Emergency management Agency (FEMA) has awarded a $4,500 grant to the City of Howardwick Volunteer Fire Department under the Firefighters Grant Program for Fire Operations and Fire Safety, US Sen. Phil Gramm announced last week.

The grant will be used to purchase six mobile radios for the fire trucks and five handheld radios plus accessories.

“These funds will help protect the brave firefighters who stand ready to protect our homes and families,” Gramm said in making the announcement. 

“I am pleased that some of the tax dollars sent by Texans to Washington are being returned to help save lives among firefighters and the people they serve here in Texas.”

The US Fire Administration, a branch of FEMA, will administer the grants.

“These awards represent a significant investment into the national fire service delivery, and I encourage all fire departments to find a method by which others outside of the fire service can join in the efforts to make this a fire safe nation for citizens and the men and women who respond to emergencies,” said USFA Deputy Administrator Charlie Dickinson.

More than $360 million is on the way from FEMA to supplement the needs of firefighters nationwide. 

The next rounds of awards will also assist with emergency medical service, safety, and firefighting vehicles.

The grants will be made directly to fire departments from FEMA.  More than 19,500 applications were received by fire departments across the country. 

FEMA and the USFA expect to award the remainder of the grants by the end of the year.

The grant application was written by Theresa Zeyen with the Howardwick Fire Department and John Kiehl with the Panhandle Regional Planning Commission.