BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (KERO) — On Tuesday, the Kern County Board of Supervisors reached an agreement with the Kern Law Enforcement Association regarding changes to wages and hours, along with other concerns. This comes as the county aims to improve law enforcement recruitment and officer retention.
Salary increases of 3 percent are set to come to the KLEA for the years 2023 through 2025. KLEA president Tim Caughron says the adjustment will be funded with revenue from Measure K and is an important part of ensuring the longevity of the department.
"We've been dealing with the county for quite a while now trying to make our association, our department, more competitive with others throughout the state. Any time we can attract new people in and keep that experience here and keep it from going somewhere else, it benefits the public," said Caughron.
Another change Caughron says is set to come pertains to officers' hours worked. He says that previously, the department had a clause in the contract saying that if an employee used vacation time, sick leave, or paid time off, it would count toward hours worked.
"The county, up until now, shifted everybody in the workforce to the federal standard, which says that if you take a vacation day or a sick day off, those hours do not count towards the hours worked for the purposes of computing overtime," said Caughron.
Devin Brown, the county's chief human resources officer, also spoke at Tuesday's meeting, sharing a breakdown of how this portion of the agreement will be implemented by the department.
"In addition, we've taken the measure of adding a longevity compensation to the total package to ensure we are doing everything possible to retain those trained and experienced law enforcement personnel that we hire, with a 2.5 percent longevity pay for eligible employees at the 5-year, 10-year, 15-year, and 20-year markers of their careers," said Brown.
Ultimately, Caughron says that the department is grateful for the increase in pay, and for the board prioritizing recruitment and retention of deputy sheriffs, and adds he's optimistic that the added funds will enhance both the quality and the speed of law enforcement services in Kern County.
"We have a driving interest to provide the best services that we can," said Caughron. "We're hoping that we finally are turning that corner and can start bringing those numbers back up, and that will increase services to the community, decrease response times, and provide an overall benefit to public safety."
