The Bluefield Daily Telegraph (McDowell County, Va.)
WELCH, W.Va. (AP) -- McDowell County sheriff’s deputies called in sick a day after the County Commission denied a pay raise.
Sheriff Steve Cox said three of four dayshift deputies and the entire night shift called in sick Thursday.
Both circuit courts were out of session, but the family law court was forced to close for the day.
“Thursday is the day we hear domestic violence cases,” said Kimber Warner, family law master for Mercer and McDowell counties. “I cannot conduct court without a deputy in the courtroom.”
State police in Welch handled calls intended for the sheriff’s office, and reported no major problems.
McDowell County 911 director Jimmy Joe Gianato said dispatchers also did not appear to have any problems during the day.
“But we don’t see our biggest number of calls during the day,” he said. “Most of our calls come in on the night shift. We’ll assess the situation through the evening.”
McDowell County sheriff’s deputies earn a starting yearly salary of $16,200. They earn an additional $1,200 a year if they become certified and complete a yearlong probationary period that includes a 14-week training session at the West Virginia State Police Academy.
“We simply don’t have it in the budget to give them a raise,” said Gordon Lambert, the commission president.
Lambert said he suggested Cox take money from vacant positions and give deputies a $1,000 raise.
But Cox said his department was already too short-staffed not to fill the vacant positions.
The department has one deputy serving in Iraq and another is on assignment with Homeland Security, leaving the county with only 12 deputies.
“We need manpower and these deputies have been working a long time without a raise,” he said.