Thank you Sheriff for your leadership and unwavering commitment to serving the people. Continue to press forward and I support you 100%! Be encouraged as we move forward together 馃檹馃徔馃檹馃徔
Sent from my iPhone
> On Nov 7, 2022, at 5:55 PM, Barreca, Courtney <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
>
> 锘縂ood evening,
> Please see the below and attached sent to my team at the Alachua County Sheriff鈥檚 Office in regards to my pursuit of employee wages.
> s/ Sheriff Clovis Watson, Jr.
> From: Barreca, Courtney
> Sent: Monday, November 7, 2022 5:09 PM
> To: #ACSO Agency Wide <[log in to unmask]>
> Subject: Sheriff's Letter Regarding Final Budget
>
> Good afternoon team,
> I want to keep you up to date with the state of budget negotiations with the county. The county commission has declined to fund the budget I requested to increase salaries and address inflation. I then requested that, since they refused to increase the budget as I outlined, that they at least let us keep the money we saved by coming in under-budget last year. They decide on Nov. 8 whether to give that money back to us or repurpose it for another county project.
>
> 路 We rely on the county commission to fund our budget. We have an obligation to follow the approved budget.
>
> 路 The county commission gave the Sheriff zero budget increase for 2022.
>
> 路 The county commission gave a 7% increase to the Sheriff鈥檚 budget for 2023. That is less than inflation and much less than we requested to meet pay goals you so rightly deserve as we attempt to address decades of pay stagnation. We still have to pay all our operating costs, many of which rose more than 7%, but with the inadequate resources we are given, I have been prioritizing your pay raises. In my estimation, getting you a pay raise is critical to fulfilling our mission in Alachua County to both the citizens and our employees.
>
> 路 The county commission was not persuaded by my argument that an increase in pay would help us recruit and retain employees, filling our many vacancies.
>
> 路 The Sheriff has a legal obligation to return money to the county that had been budgeted but not spent. Due to vacancies and supply chain issues, we returned close to $5M to the county commission from last year鈥檚 ACSO budget. Inadequate pay will not fill these vacancies, creating a cycle unfairly burdensome on you and your families.
>
> 路 Since the county commission denied my budget request for 2023, I requested that they return the 2022 excess to fund real raises for our employees. They make that decision in their session on Nov. 8.
>
> 路 Once we know if and how much the county will allow us to keep of our excess, that amount can be applied to raises in addition to the 7%. That is why our agency-wide raises can鈥檛 be implemented until after the commission鈥檚 decision on the 8th.
> I remain committed to enhancing the Sheriff鈥檚 Office and the lives of our dedicated employees.
> All employees should have already stepped in pay. This usually hits your paycheck in December, but we accelerated the process to get you that pay increase faster because I know every dollar counts.
> For bargaining unit members, there is a legal bargaining process that has to be followed to raise your pay. Both my team and the bargaining units have already met and, as you know, I have put the 7%+ pay offer in writing there, just as I鈥檝e done it here. We鈥檙e working in concert to affect those raises. We both want the same thing.
> On Nov. 8 they may give us nothing and keep the previously ACSO-budgeted money.
> For your ease of mind, everyone鈥檚 pay will see a minimum increase this year of 7%. This includes employees who are ineligible for a pay step, who normally don鈥檛 get a raise. I鈥檓 aiming for more than 7%. How much more will depend on how much excess of our budget money the county commission lets us keep. I will put every increase we get in to your pay.
> No matter the adversity, I will use all the skills, knowledge, and contacts that I have accumulated over a lifetime of public service to get you more pay. My goal has been, and remains, to start deputy/corrections pay at $50,000 and raise the other pay scales accordingly.
> Please find attached a few documents reiterating this relentless pursuit of pay increases for all of ACSO. As you may have seen during the 8/2/22 County Commission meeting, my budget priority is pay for our employees. I remain polite but unwavering in my requests to increase your pay.
> Commission Meeting link https://urldefense.com/v3/__https://alachua.granicus.com/ViewPublisher.php?view_id=8__;!!KOmxaIYkRmNA0A!VhR4i14eHU6GLpldaHJk0qbaaQqyvOtBwhG2ltJHqGzAM9eoBDtSgGWfUm-scpLffQQ0uZE2yV-nUJ1lCGe59F52xuwWqPbJNQ$ (click Special Meeting on 8-2-22 @ 10:00 AM)
> Honored to Serve,
> Sheriff Clovis Watson, Jr.
>
> <Message re Budget Final 2023 Attachments.pdf>
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