Lee Sheriff’s Office bumps starting salary up to $20 an hour

LEESBURG — Lee County Sheriff Reggie Rachals, like most law enforcement officials in the region, has been singing the attrition blues for some time now.

Even in southwest Georgia’s fastest-growing community, Rachals’ staff is 12 officers short with two others expected to leave soon.

“You hear a lot about people in law enforcement leaving to take jobs with departments that are paying more money,” Rachals said. “But it’s not just that anymore. We’re losing officers to the private sector, too.

“Bottom line, it’s all about the money.”

Rachals, with a big assist from the Lee County Commission, can now offer an incentive to keep his staff intact. The commission approved a request by the sheriff to raise the starting salaries of deputies to $20 an hour, a rate that is tops in the region.

“This is going to be very helpful, I think,” Rachals said. “As word has filtered out in the region, we’ve already started getting calls from officers asking about the open positions.

“We discussed the issue in our office and then sat down with the commissioners. They’ve all been very helpful; they’re all on board.”

With the new $20-per-hour starting salary, LCSO is among the tops in southwest Georgia. Only the Georgia State Patrol (at $20.53 per hour) and the Albany Police Department ($25.98) have higher starting salaries, the top figure with APD going to officers with extensive experience.

Some other starting salaries in the region include Albany Police ($17.58 for officers with less experience), Dougherty County Police ($17-$17.48, depending on experience), Dougherty County Sheriff ($18.84), Crisp County Sheriff ($18), Sylvester Police ($18), Tift County Sheriff ($16.58), Worth County Sheriff ($18), Tifton Police Department ($16), Leesburg Police Department ($16), Americus Police Department ($15.30) and Sumter County Sheriff’s Office ($14.90-$17).

Rachals, who provided the salaries for comparison, said he was steadily losing officers with the county’s $16.37 top starting salary.

Lee Commission Chairman Billy Mathis said the commission places priority on public safety.

“The sheriff (Rachals) seems to think he’ll get some of the very best officers with the new starting salary,” Mathis said. “That’s what we want in Lee County; that is a priority of the commission.

“And one of the things Sheriff Rachals plans is to give members of his team, like jailers, who are not Police Officer Standard Training-certified the opportunity to get certified. When they do, their salary will be raised to the $20 level.”

The Lee Sheriff said the reason for the salary bump is simple.

“We just couldn’t compete at the lower salary,” he said. “We were losing quality personnel, and we had a tougher time attracting the people we needed. Now I feel like we’ll be able to bring in some of the best. And we have a commission that is on board.

The reason? “We set the standard,” Mathis said. “In Lee County, we don’t follow. We lead.”

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