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Kent County Sheriff's Department, Michigan, 2004-2011
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The Kent County Sheriff's Department in Kent County, Michigan has approximately 600 employees.[1]
The sheriff is mandated to provide for sufficient jail space and to keep the jail in good repair.[1] The Corrections Division manages the county’s correctional facility and other correctional programs.
Salaries
The Kent County Sheriff's Department's total 2011 budget was $68,524,195. According to their website, 71.78% of that total was dedicated to personnel. That works out to $46,809,300 spent on personnel, which the Sheriff's Office lists as the full-time equivalent (FTE) of 548.9 employees. This works out to a full-time average equivalent of $85,278.37 per employee.[1]
Benefits
- See also: Kent County employee salaries
Benefits for county Sheriff's Department employees are the same as those for other county employees. According to the Kent County website, the following benefits are available for employees:[2]
- Healthcare plan
- Prescription drug plan
- Dental and vision
- Flexible spending account
- Leave: vacation, personal, sick and holiday
- Life insurance
- Retirement
- Tuition reimbursement
- Credit union
Public records suit
According to Michigan Freedom of Information Act columnist Edward Vielmetti, "In Herald Co. v. Kent County Sheriff's Department, the Michigan Court of Appeals found in 2004 that there must be a balancing of the public's interest in disclosure against any harm caused by disclosure. The case involved records associated with a county sheriff department's internal affairs investigation into the alleged misconduct of one of its deputies."
Vielmetti continued, "Michigan FOIA law recognizes that the interests of the public are to be considered when looking at the release of records, and that records which shed light on the official acts and workings of the government are protected by FOIA. In this case, the court ruled that a portion of the records were to be released, and that other portions should be redacted."[3]
Salary records project
In 2011, Sunshine Review chose 152 local governments as the focus of research on public employee salaries. The editors of Sunshine Review selected eight states with relevant political contexts (listed alphabetically):
1. California
2. Florida
3. Illinois
4. Michigan
5. New Jersey
6. Pennsylvania
7. Texas
8. Wisconsin
Within these states, the editors of Sunshine Review focused on the most populous cities, counties and school districts, as well as the emergency services entities within these governments. The purpose of this selection method was to develop articles on governments affecting the most citizens.
The salary information garnered from these states were a combination of existing online resources and state Freedom of Information Act requests sent out to the governments.
A study published by the Pew Charitable Trusts and the Economy League of Greater Philadelphia said the city of Philadelphia faced challenges owing to the cost of public employee pensions.[4] The report claimed the amount that Philadelphia paid to pension recipients limited the city’s ability to use its budget effectively.
The report said there were more individuals receiving pension benefits—33,907 claimants in 2006—than workers in the city—28,701.[4] The authors recommended three steps towards addressing the problem of high costs in pensions: improved data collection, expanded transparency initiatives, and reductions to the city's overall budget.[4]
Salary schedules can be published as ranges, not as specific compensation figures, and may leave out compensation received through health and retirement benefits, as well as benefits such as commuter allowances and cell phone reimbursements. This project aimed to close the gap and provide a more accurate picture of public employee salaries for the sake of public education and transparency.
See also
External links
- Kent County, Michigan - Free Public Records Directory
- Kent County Sheriff's Department official website
- State Budget Solutions -- Michigan
Footnotes
