Sheriff Hollenbeck seeks salary support

story by Aric Mitchell
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Sheriff Bill Hollenbeck addressed Sebastian County Quorum Court members Tuesday night (Aug. 30) with a proposal to raise personnel salaries within the Sebastian County Jail System.

“What we’ve had in the past is a one person system, where every department is filtered through the Chief,” Hollenbeck said. “This has resulted in improper time management, work flow traffic jams, and an inefficient chain of command.”

Hollenbeck’s recommendation is to create more supervisory roles across the various departments, which include criminal investigations, patrol, adult detention, juvenile detention, and adult detention payroll. Hollenbeck noted that particularly among jailer salaries, Sebastian County is one of the lowest in the state at just $24,693 per year.

“This number competes with $34,500 for the Fort Smith Police Department; $30,076 per year in Benton County; and $28,080 for the Greenwood Police Department. These individuals work in a hostile environment, and I would like to see us take care of them,” Hollenbeck said.

In addition to the proposal, which would call for a 7% increase for supervisory employees currently working under the midpoint, Hollenbeck asked that the Quorum Court would consider raising the salaries of his 45 jailers to an across the board flat rate of $29,050.45 per year. The cost for such an increase would be close to $187,000. Hollenbeck notes that his office has already produced this amount in the form of a $1.5 million surplus in revenue, which came as a result of contract renegotiations with food services and the U.S. Marshals Office.

“Our jailers have a yearly turnover rate of about 45%. A large part of this is due to low pay. If we could offer a more competitive salary, it would increase morale as well as job satisfaction and productivity,” Hollenbeck added.

The pay issue also took center stage as Sebastian County Tax Collector Judith Miller addressed the Quorum Court on a previously adopted resolution that had granted only a 2% increase to county employees, a move that, Miller notes, violated a law passed from the state legislature.

“This body (the Quorum Court) is such a stickler for rules, but you broke a rule that was passed in 2006,” Miller said, citing 2006-19, which automatically set forth 3% pay increases each year so the governing body would not have to continually revisit the issue.

“I’m seeking the 1% that elected officials and their employees should have received when this was up for review. Our employees are what is keeping this county running. They’re good people,” Miller said.

Miller also noted that the increase would cost approximately $101,000.

Tuesday night’s meeting was not a voting session, so neither the Sheriff’s pay proposal, nor Miller’s demands were addressed by way of formal vote, though they are expected to be addressed at September’s meeting.

But first, the Quorum Court and the City of Fort Smith will hold a joint meeting on Sept. 13 to address further plans for Ben Geren Park’s development. Recently, there have been discussions for an aquatic facility as well as additions of softball, baseball and soccer fields, but nothing definite has been decided.

The Quorum Court is also expected to address a request for funds from the River Valley Sports Complex (RVSC) that was brought to attention at Tuesday night’s meeting. RVSC is seeking a $250,000 donation from the Quorum Court to begin building four softball fields in the Chaffee Crossing development, and will also be in attendance at mid-September’s joint meeting.