KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — Some Knox County Sheriff's Office employees are receiving a raise.
Knox County Mayor Glenn Jacobs and Knox County Sheriff Tom Spangler made the joint announcement Friday morning.
Corrections officers are receiving a 27% raise. Patrol officers are receiving a 12% raise. Starting patrol officers will be paid $51,100. Starting corrections officers will be paid $50,100.
Knox County Finance Director Chris Caldwell said the pay increases will cost the county an extra $3.975 million, which they will raise by increasing certain fees. The mayor's office said they will ask Knox County Commission to add a $10 booking and processing fee for the jail and raise the prisoner reimbursement rate from the state to pay for the increases.
Caldwell said Knox County will also explore increasing penalties on delinquent taxes and business taxes to help offset some of the increases.
The additional savings would come from capping county contributions to the Uniformed Officers Pension Plan (UOPP). UOPP applies to officers hired by KCSO between 2007 and 2014. The county pays a percentage of a deputy's monthly income once they're retired, based on an average of the highest income they received over a 2-year period.
Under the mayor and sheriff's proposal, pay raises used to calculate the pension payout would be capped at 3% per year.
"If there is a patrol officer who happens to be in UOPP, who is getting a 12% raise, 3% is pensionable, 9% is what would be non-pensionable," Caldwell said.
Without the adjustment, Caldwell said the county would be on the hook for an extra $19 million over the next 20 years.
Under the current county budget, Knox County corrections officers earn $39,471 and patrol officers earn $44,814, according to the Knox County Merit Board website. Compared to the Knoxville Police Department, which just received pay raises, police officers earn a starting salary of $45,292 a year.
29 positions in KCSO's Corrections Division will be cut.
The raises will take effect on July 1—if passed by the Knox County Commission.