Plumas County Sheriff’s deputies are scheduled to return to two daily patrol shifts after four months of reduced shifts that covered the county for just 10 hours a day.
Plumas County Sheriff Todd Johns plans to reinstate two 10-hour patrol shifts Jan. 1, he told the Plumas County Board of Supervisors Dec. 12. It’s a tenuous plan that relies on no loss of Plumas County Sheriff’s Office staff between now and then, he said.
“I’m optimistic that we will be able to do this,” said Johns.
Single 10-hour patrols since Sept. 1
He eliminated the traditional two daily patrol shifts on Aug. 30 citing lack of staffing due to low wages for deputies, dispatchers and jail staff.
The single 10-hour daily patrol shift, from noon to 10 p.m., drew alarm from educators and the general public. Having no deputies on shift for half our school days is “unacceptable for the safety of our children,” said Bill Roderick, superintendent of the Plumas Unified School District.
Feather River College President Kevin Trutna said college students get active during the hours after the patrols stop. “Nothing good happens after 2 a.m.,” he said.
20 percent raise approved Oct. 10
Returning to normal two-a-day patrols follows a 20 percent across-the-board raise for sheriff’s employees adopted Oct. 10 by the Plumas County Board of Supervisors. The supervisors also authorized a $1,000 lump-sum payment to eligible sheriff’s workers who were employed on or before April 10, 2023.
Higher wages made the difference, said Johns: “One former dispatcher came back within a week of the pay raises.” Another returned within several weeks, he said.
“It’s all about us being competitive and able to keep our staff,” he said.
Staffing at the sheriff’s office is still below full strength, said Johns. Despite the raise, deputies’ wages still lag 18 percent below the average for 10 comparable counties, he said.
But the 20 percent raise has stimulated applications for sheriff’s deputy positions as well as dispatchers and correctional officers, Johns said. Most of the new employees are working in the jail. That has freed deputies, who were covering correctional positions, to return to patrols.
Staffing remains “a bit of a challenge” because of the three-month training required before a new employee can start work, Johns said. Still, he is optimistic that a continued increase in workers will eventually allow him to have deputies patrolling for more than 20 hours a day.
Measure A set for March 5 ballot
Comparably low wages for sheriff’s employee motivated Supervisor Jeff Engel to propose an initiative for the March 5 presidential primary ballot that would raise the countywide sales tax, with the new revenue dedicated solely to the Sheriff’s Office and jail. The supervisors approved it unanimously Sept. 29.
The issue will appear as Measure A on ballots countywide. It requires two-thirds of the votes to pass.
Increasing the current 7.25 percent sales tax to 8 percent would generate about $2.4 million, all of which would be used for public safety, said Engel, who represents the East Quincy and Graeagle areas. “Without public safety we have nothing else,” he said.
Engel said he hopes to bring the wages in all county departments up to levels that are comparable for comparison counties.
If Measure A passes, Johns said he would like to have resource officers posted at schools throughout Plumas County.