Monday, December 14, 2015

$50K for a starting jailer???

The Northwest Herald carried an article yesterday, updated today, that the McHenry County Sheriff's Department plans to hire new jailers. At a starting salary of "...$49, 571 with paid holidays, vacation and sick time after one year. Major medical, dental and life insurance packages are also offered."

Presumably, a 21-year-old high school graduate with a FOID card could pull down $50 Grand.

$50,000???  You gotta be kidding me. And what will the total compensation be? $75,000? (Isn't there a retirement plan, too?) This, for a beginner at the lowest rung in the jail's ladder?

Folks in McHenry County, you'd better wake up. Soon no one will be able to afford to live in McHenry County. High taxes are already driving out the elderly. Even if your home is paid for, you probably can't afford the property taxes.

When will The People scream, "Enough!"

What will it take to "persuade" the school districts and the County Board (and its Departments, such as the Sheriff's Department) and the State legislators to cut taxes? How many services will The People be willing to do without, in order to see their tax bills go down sharply?

See what happens when you fall asleep at the switch and allow "creep"?



4 comments:

Big Daddy said...

What's a fair salary then Gus? What would you pay them?

Gus said...

Assuming that an entry-level jailer has a high school diploma or GED and no prior experience, $28,000 plus benefits is adequate. As he proves himself, pay him more.

Careful selection from the candidate pool and solid, professional training and leadership would head off some of the problems that the Jail has experienced recently. Look for honesty and ethics; you can teach and train the rest.

Gus said...

A reader sent this comment by direct email to me. Many thanks!!!

"You are spot on that almost 50K before huge benefits is way too much to start a jailer out at, especially with no experience. Yes, they do have a tough job, but 30K to start will get you started and you can climb the Government ladder later and still retire rich. Besides, I thought they lost all those fed beds and needed to start laying off jailers, not hiring more? The only problem with you leaving and I left, taxed too much, is that we sold our property to another sucker. You see, the Government doesn't care if you or I leave, they know it is a domino effect and there will always be another sucker in that house. There probably will be stagnation in that nobody will build any more new homes, so they are capped, but how they built for 20 years straight non stop will keep them in business for a while, it will take taxes rather than growth to keep up with infrastructure and future expenditures. Illinois is screwed, will look like Detroit in a few years and a few fires.

"Also, that guy who is running for recorder promises to abolish his position if he is elected, but it will take him the length of his term to do it, that sounds like a ploy to get elected. Franks had self imposed limits at one point too."

Big Daddy said...

The problem with 28K is that if you are a family man that won't go very far. If you want the best or at least a competent employee that you want to keep you have to pay them accordingly. Paying them less than the people they are responsible for could also lead to corruption.