Northampton County Sheriff Randy Miller told Council last night that he needs six more full-time deputies Currently, he has 59, as well as 14 part-time deputies. In Lehigh County, Sheriff Miller stated there are nearly 90 deputies. Miller told Council that his staff is so busy that even the part-timers are working 40-hour weeks. Because everyone is tied up in court, there's no time to train. They are now transporting juveniles, something that has only started in recent years. He also noted that Sheriffs are falling behind in serving process, opening the door to private service processors.
One complication for the Sheriff is that there is a 13% call off rate among deputies, i.e. deputies who call in sick or take personal time with only one days notice. This means there is a 1 in 9 possibility that a Deputy assigned to a particular task that day will call off. Miller stated that issue is being addressed in contract negotiations. But this high call off rate might also be an indication that deputies are overwhelmed..
Council's Personnel Committee headed by Ken Kraft unanimously voted to move Sheriff Miller's request forward. Kraft did note that, starting next year, this will increase personnel costs by $500,000.
The Sheriff stated that Deputies will be hired within two weeks of Council's approval.
11 comments:
Six full-time people stretch over the years with yearly raises averaging 3-5%, plus pay steps, plus pensions. Yeah sure guys. how far do I bend over?
John Q. Taxpayer
it could also be an indication that they are worthless, greedt, crybaby union pukes. Time to get tough with these punks. Callahan will clean the this mess up.
John Q. is right!! This is a joke..He just forced a few deputies to resign..If he stops firing people maybe he wont need so many. Geez Randy! You must know forcing Tom and the others to resign was the wrong move. Everyone knew Mezzacappa had a permit. Everyone knew, including yourself, that she and Stoffa were pals and that is why he signed he agreed to be a reference! Come on Randy..You are a good guy..Stop firing people for
letting the public know about the lack of checks..It wasn't your fault. The Express knows that Stoffa and Mezz were friends..Now you know. She will sue the county over the release. So what? That is no reason to do this. They all have families. Why threaten them to not file for unemployment when they need this money for their kids??
I don't get it. They did a public service by bringing this to light. I know Tom drives you crazy but he agreed to move elsewhere in the county. You have to know, by doing this, your head will be next. January isn't that far away. You are a great guy Randy. At least let them file for unemployment. Screw Morganelli on that. He will never file criminal charges for this because, publicly he'd look mean. John might be tough behind the scenes but he doesn't like to project that publicly. Stop this!!
Oh yeah..uncle moron..Callahan might win the primary but he is so toast in the general, you might as well butter him now, lol..Bye Johnny Casino!!!
Randy has nothing to worry about if Callahan wins He has been a Callahan cronie for years, just ask Mary Gotzon and Stu Bedics...LOL As fo Morganelli just buy him a drink and he'll be fine....
"Everyone knew, including yourself, that she and Stoffa were pals and that is why he signed he agreed to be a reference! "
This is a false statement.
Read the emails between her and Stoffa Bernie. You know they exist.
Anon 5:57 AM-You seem to know an awful lot except the facts. One Deputy was fired and facing criminal charges and the other two who conspired with Darin that day were given the option to resign instead of being fired as well. They weren't fired for "letting the public know about the lack of checks", they were disciplined because of their own actions. THEY should have thought about their families and how THEIR actions would affect their law enforcement careers.
The fact is the the Sheriff IS the Chief Law Officer in his county.He can even make the Fed's dance if he needs to! Now I have in resent post here advocated a training budget and real training to be conducted.I don't care about politics unless you show at my door at 3am. The Sheriff has many fine employee's that I have interacted with over the years. Proper utilization is a management issue he can not straighten out in the months he has been appointed. Former cops may not be the best choice however for civil work . The dynamics of serving process don 't revolve around shift work. I know , the judges know, the judges had me do the work during the D"Amedio problems. He wants to take his CIVIL TO 1 MILLION a year ,He can do this IF he gets help on HOW TO. He needs guys that i have trained and worked with . I'm OUT shortly after JULY __ GOODBYE! Sheriff is a good man, and needs support in the budget for MARKSMANSHIP to protect themselves and have self esteem in operation of firearms and ETHICS and general how to's
Deputies get their powers to act by being deputized by the Sheriff. Watch any Western and one would know this is how undersheriffs, or deputies, get their authority to act. Not sure if anyone was properly deputized after Hawbecker left office. Rumor being heard that deputies are seizing property and executing civil orders without having the authority to do so. Rut roh. County Solicitor better look into this. The lawsuit floodgate may have just opened.
As a State Constable in Northampton County myself and other Constable's would be more then happy to assist the sheriff's department in any way it can, be it transports, service of process or bench warrant service until it reaches full staffing levels.
The Sheriff's department is sadly understaffed to do the job correctly without burning those guys out. They are a great group of guys and professionals. If you are reading this Sheriff and need assistance give me a call.
Fred Schoenenberger
PA State Constable
Wilson Borough
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