Commissioners discuss budget

KINGWOOD — Preston commissioners are working with shrinking dollars as they plan for the 2020-21 budget, while the sheriff’s department worries about competing with other agencies for officers.

The current fiscal year budget was estimated at $8,806,738, which was $221,165 less than the previous year’s budget of $9,027,903.

For the fiscal year beginning July 1, an $8.4 million budget is being estimated.
In budget presentations recently, office holders detailed a list of wants and needs, including higher salaries requested by some, though commissioners had asked raises not be included in budget requests.

That irked some office holders, who noted no raises were given in the current fiscal year.

In FY 2018-19, commissioners gave office holders an amount equal to $1,000 for each full-time worker and $600 for each part-time worker. It was left to the elected officials to divvy the money up among their employees.

In 2017-18, the commission handed out a one-time salary adjustment of $675 for each full-time employee and $335 for each part-timer.

Sheriff Dan Loughrie was among those who asked for raises for employees. He asked for a 5% raise for all officers, citing competition from other agencies as making it tough to recruit and keep officers. No additional vehicles were requested.

“I think it’s very obvious that many counties are starting their people [higher],” County Administrator Kathy Mace said. “But what’s their budget?”

Commission President Samantha Stone said “the true discrepancy” is the difference in county budgets. Monongalia County’s is about $41 million, while Preston’s is $8 million. Yet both are Class I counties, the basis the department used for its comparison.

“It’s not that we don’t want to change it up to make it fair,” Stone said.
Monongalia County deputies start at $40,848, according to the sheriff’s department’s research.

Preston deputies start at $32,000 annually. In contrast, the City of Kingwood is paying its newest certified officer $36,400 and another, experienced officer $41,600 a year.

But two of the new deputies hired last year by the sheriff were certified, and one came from Kingwood Police, the other from Star City, Mace noted. There must be something in Preston County attracting officers, she said.

Loughrie also requested adding a deputy and a utility officer to his staff. (Utility officers transport prisoners to the regional jail, are stationed at the door of the courthouse and act as bailiffs.)

Preston currently has 19 deputies, plus the chief deputy and sheriff. Commissioners last added a deputy in September 2019, after the Preston Board of Education began paying one officer to be a school resource officer at Preston High, using levy funds.

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