The raises are part of the fiscal budget year that starts July 1
Rutherford County Commission boosts public safety pay by at least 8%
Rutherford County Commission Chairman Jeff Phillips talks about decision to boost public safety pay by at least 8%.
- All Rutherford government employees will see their pay tables increase by at least 2%
- Public safety workers will see their pay tables go up by another 6%
- All eligible county employees will get a 1.75% step increase in pay, as well
- County Commission appropriates budget with $17.8M deficit
- County finances earn another AAA bond rating
Rutherford County public safety employees will see their pay climb by up to 9.75% by July, officials decided June 23.
The Rutherford County Commission agreed to the pay raises as part of the nearly $958.5 million budget without a property tax hike to fund government and public education services next fiscal year that starts July 1.
Commission Chairman Jeff Phillips confirmed after the meeting that the elected commissioners wanted to improve the pay of public safety workers in particular to remain competitive in hiring and retaining them “and not train them and have them go other places for higher pay.”
“It’s real important that we do that,” Phillips told The Daily News Journal.
The pay raises will mean that most deputies in the “Certified Patrol Officer II” position who’ve completed training through both the Tennessee Peace Officers Standards and Training Commission and the Rutherford County Sheriff’s Office will begin at step 2 on the pay table, which would be an annual base pay of $60,505, said Sonya Stephenson, who oversees human resources for the county government.
How the pay raises work for county government workforce
All county government employees will see their pay tables increase by at least 2%. If they work as patrol deputies, school resource officers, detention officers, firefighters and Emergency Medical Services responders, the pay tables will increase by another 6%, County Finance Director Michael Smith confirmed.
Any government employee eligible for a step increase to the pay table will see their wages increase by another 1.75%. So the total would be 9.75% for public safety workers and 3.75% for other government positions.
The raise decision follows the county commission lifting the pay scale tables by 4.25% July 2024 and by another 4.25% January 2025.
The commission’s budget also supports the Rutherford County Board of Education decision to provide district employees with a 2.5% increase to pay scales.
The board also approved a 17% increase in pay for bus contractors and agreed to provide each with an additional $4,000 to cover insurance costs.
County Commission appropriates budget with $17.8M deficit
County officials are using reserves to cover a $17.8 million budget deficit, including nearly $9 million to fund the school district’s main $581.3 million operation budget.
The deficit has decreased from $64 million in 2023 when Rutherford Mayor Joe Carr recommended a 16% property tax hike to balance the budget.
Nearly $6.7 million is for the district’s $33.5 million budget for cafeteria operations, which is intentional to meet federal requirements to avoid having significant savings in reserves for food services subsidized by the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
The County General fund for most government services also has a nearly $2.8 million budget deficit.
County finances earn another AAA bond rating
Rutherford Mayor Joe Carr touted the efforts to improve public safety pay in a press release from county spokeswoman Lisa Kaye.
“Raising the starting salary for certified and booking officers within the (Rutherford County) Sheriff’s Office was a priority of mine when putting together this year’s budget,” Carr said in the press release. “Rutherford County Sheriff Mike Fitzhugh and I, acknowledging the importance of this decision, began working to increase the starting compensation at the Sheriff’s Office in the fall of 2024.”
The mayor also mentioned the work to boost all the employee pay tables.
“With this budget, we continue toward the goal of getting the county pay table in line with other counties and cities in Tennessee while at the same time avoiding property tax increases,” Carr said.
The mayor in the press release also praised department heads for requesting budgets without excessive spending increases.
“As the county population continues to grow, the departments within the county continue to do more with less. This year’s budget took a stand firm approach with our conservative principles intact, as in previous years. These principles have led to Rutherford County being one of only two counties in Tennessee to receive a AAA bond rating from two major rating agencies.”
Break down of budget appropriations for next fiscal year starting July 1
- County General for most government operations: $189 million (19.3% of budget with nearly $2.8 million deficit)
- Solid Waste/Sanitation: $12.7 million (1.3% of budget)
- Ambulance (Emergency Medical Services): $25.5 million (2.69% of budget)
- Industrial/Economic Development (attracting jobs): $697,832 (0.07% of budget with a $568,405 deficit)
- Drug Control (Sheriff’s operation): $1 million 0.1% of budget with $522,000 deficit)
- Special Purpose (similar to Drug Control and involving Sheriff’s detectives working cases with U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration): $40,000 ($35,000 deficit)
- Highway Department: $15.9 million (1.7% of budget)
- General Purpose School (main district operations): $581.3 million (61.3% of budget with nearly $8 million deficit)
- Centralized Cafeteria (for district schools): $33.5 million (3.5% of budget with nearly $6.7 million deficit)
- Education Capital Projects (Rutherford school maintenance projects): $19.3 million (2% of budget)
- General Debt Service (to pay back loans for projects): $69.4 million (7.1% of budget)
- Total appropriation: $948.5 million (100% of budget for government and public-school services with $17.8 million deficit
Source: Rutherford County Finance Director Miachael Smith
Reach reporter Scott Broden with news tips or questions by emailing him at sbroden@dnj.com. To support his work with The Daily News Journal, sign up for a digital subscription.
