By Frank Espinoza
Mail

PHOENIX-The Maricopa County Board of Supervisors approved the addition and replacement of market ranges for pay for a variety of positions within county government.

The move will affect the pay range for positions such as detention officers, probation officer trainee, surveillance officers, veterinarians, human services program administrators, real property specialist principals, and sheriff’s executive chiefs.

As of now, the starting salary of a detention officer is $24.05 per hour with a max pay of $31.20. This includes a sign-on bonus of $3,000.

The wage increase comes after ongoing issues with recruiting and retention rates that started to before the pandemic, and Maricopa County wasn’t alone in dealing with it.

In a report to the Joint Legislative Budget Committee, the Arizona Department of Corrections included information from exit surveys conducted with 306 employees who left the department since the start of 2019. Nearly two-in-five, 39%, said they left because their salaries weren’t competitive, making it the biggest driver of attrition among prison guards.

On June 28, Gov. Doug Ducey signed the fiscal year 2023 budget that committed $117 million to provide a 20% pay increase for all Department of Corrections, Rehabilitation and Reentry salaries. This is separate from the updates to market ranges that the BOS approved.

The state Department of Corrections, Rehabilitation and Reentry and Public Safety have been struggling to hire and retain officers because of low or uncompetitive wages. For reference, a starting correctional officer earns just over $35,000 a year before the 20% premium pay.

“Before the most recent update, the salary range for detention officer was $22.50- $31.20 per hour. Any DOs that were making less than $24.05 per hour were brought up to the new minimum, and all other detention officers received a 2.5% market increase. The updates to the range and the market increases are being funded by vacancy savings in the detention fund,” Said Sgt. Joaquin Enriquez, a spokesman for the Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office.

The county still has a high vacancy rate among detention officers (roughly 29%), and salary is often referenced among those that voluntarily separate, Enriquez said.

“We are optimistic that the update to the salary range will assist with our recruitment efforts and the market increases will assist with retention of current DOs,” he said.

Frank Espinoza
Reporter | Daily Independent

fespinoza@iniusa.org

Frank Espinoza is a recent graduate of Northern Arizona University from the beginning of 2022. He prides himself on covering topics that give a spotlight to individuals or groups who give back to the community. He has covered local sports, community events, and important issues that impact the state. In his spare time, he loves to watch Street League Skateboarding and hang out at Cowtown Skateboards in Goodyear.