July, often the time you associate with hot balmy days, beach trips and All-Star baseball games. But it also marks the start of a new budget year for a lot of sheriff’s departments, including Lexington County, and there’s some astounding news for the hardworking team here at the Lexington County Sheriff’s Department.
The Lexington County Council has voted for all positions here at the department to receive a pay increase of 7%. Effective July 1, this pay increase allows us to attract, retain and develop the talented people here at the Sheriff’s Department who work so hard on behalf of our community.
After a bumper year for recruitment where we saw a 48% increase in the number of employees hired, these new salaries will allow us to continue to invest in recruiting the most qualified and dedicated team members to serve our community.
For certified positions, this means the starting pay could be up to almost $54,000 a year (depending on education, prior certification and experience).
The additional county dollars will also pay for a Crime Reduction Unit grant position at the conclusion of the current grant and allow us to make sure officers are properly equipped to serve with the purchase of new patrol equipment and vehicles.
As well as attracting new talent to the agency, this strong support and investment from the county allows us to reward and retain some of our hardest working team members.
The additional investment also allowed us to provide a merit-based salary increase of up to 3% to reward high-performing team members who score well on their annual evaluation.
Through dedicated activity, we’ve already managed to reduce turnover by as much as 50%, keeping vital expertise within the department. A $5,000 new hire incentive is part of the reason we’ve seen so many people express interest in coming aboard…and staying with us.
We expect the highest levels of service and dedication from our deputies throughout their career here at the Lexington County Sheriff’s Department and want to support them in being the best they can be.
With this new budget, we’re proud to be able to support professional development through funded S.C. Sheriffs’ Association memberships and continued SCLEOA memberships for all sworn personnel.
We’re incredibly proud and grateful to the people of Lexington County for showing their continued support and belief in the work we do at the department through this investment that allows us to continue delivering the highest levels of service to them.
As a community, we all benefit from living in a county where law enforcement is appreciated and supported, and it’s one of the many reasons we’re proud to call Lexington County home.
If you have the dedication, experience and heart needed to serve this amazing community, we’d love for you to benefit from this incredible pay increase and welcome you to the Lexington County Sheriff’s Department family.
Visit joinLCSD.com for information about our open positions