Sheriff's bonuses draw fire
St. Johns County Sheriff David Shoar's unilateral decision to give his 500 employees one-time bonuses of $1,000 each was met warmly by his staff but not by other county employees who have had to take furloughs.
Shoar and his staff had worked on increasing efficiency and saving money this year and ended up with $1 million in savings.
Shoar dedicated half of that to the staff bonuses and will return the other half to the county. All Sheriff's Office employees except Shoar got the bonus.
"When I hired people, I promised them they'd get certain raises," Shoar said Thursday night. "But the economy kept me from doing so these past two years. I made the decision after we had saved a few nickels. Five of my employees cried when I told them about the money."
County Commission Chair Ron Sanchez said county employees had sacrificed, too.
"They've given up five furlough days," he said. "That's 2 percent of their salary. Our budget is still constrained. This doesn't come at a good time."
In the next budget year, county employees will get "something," he said.
Also on the burners is a plan by the county to seek voter support for a proposed 1-cent sales tax increase, which could collect $24 million annually to help compensate the county for a significant drop in tax revenue because of declining property values.
However, County Administrator Michael Wanchick said the sheriff's action "adds to public uncertainty because we've been preaching the gospel of financial constraints for a long time. (Every county employee) deserves a pay adjustment, but we've held the line. Some of our employees are upset."
No wonder. Many other public employees in St. Johns County have gotten additional compensation during the last year.
St. Augustine city officials approved an across-the-board 2.3 percent raise for its workers. St. Johns County Fire-Rescue's local union got its contracted 3 percent for union members only, and the School Board gave its employees a raise.
Wanchick said, "We've saved a lot of money, too."
The county's 2009 budget of $654 million dropped to $611 million in 2010 and will drop further to $582 million next year. So, over two years, the county budget fell $72 million.
If one calculates from 2007, the year Wanchick was hired, the budget plummeted $151 million.
"We already anticipate property values falling further," Wanchick said. "What we've been telling the public for the past two years is true."
Sheriff's savings
Shoar saved money in several ways.
* $500,000 was saved by creating an in-patient jail infirmary, meaning fewer hospital trips.
* Smaller units were consolidated under a single supervisor.
* $250,000 was saved by renegotiating with the Sheriff Office's Workman's Compensation provider.
* Retiring senior officers were not replaced.
* The department uses 42,000 gallons of gasoline a month. Lower prices saved thousands.
Sgt. Chuck Mulligan, a spokesman for Shoar, said the sheriff's administrators predicted no raises for the next two years.
"This is a one-time, one-year deal," he said of the pay adjustments.
Shoar: Not a bonus
Shoar refuses to call this money a bonus because the dictionary defines a bonus as "money or compensation that is greater than an employee's baseline compensation" and he said the state gave its employees one-time $1,000 checks a few years ago.
Mulligan said law enforcement is "inherently a dangerous job," and deputies must deal with murders, suicides, methamphetamine labs, the death of children, traffic accidents and injuries, and the families of victims.
"Everyone's taking on an extra load due to the consolidations and a hiring freeze," he said. "There have been no promotions. Now we only hire to fill critical public safety positions."
Shoar's next budget will become leaner than this year's $56.3 million, estimated to be $55.3 million in 2011.
The sheriff said, "Mike (Wanchick) and I are great partners, but I probably should have called him to tell him what I was planning to do."
Wanchick said the county also employs many workers who work dangerous jobs.
"The danger that public safety employees face is already reflected in their higher pay and earlier retirement," he said. "Our people are loyal, dedicated public servants who work more hours for less pay. But it does become difficult to maintain morale with (these raises) playing out around them."
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