As the Ramsey County Board sets next year’s maximum tax levy Tuesday, the sheriff, deputies’ union and city managers are raising the alarm that it won’t be enough to cover competitive wages for deputies.

Sheriff Bob Fletcher said employees are leaving for higher-paid jobs, and it’s “no secret that it is more difficult than ever for law enforcement and public safety agencies across the country to recruit and retain talent,” he wrote in a letter this month to County Manager Ling Becker.

The deputies’ union contract expires at the end of this year and Fletcher wrote that, in order to remain competitive, he believes deputies should get at least a 22 percent raise spread over three years. He said that would be comparable to Minneapolis Police and Minnesota State Patrol salary increases.

But concerns about recruiting and retaining deputies “is unlikely to be addressed” in the county’s proposed maximum tax levy of 4.75 percent for next year’s budget, Fletcher wrote.

Becker said in a Monday statement that “law enforcement officer recruitment and retention continues to be challenging throughout the state, including here in Ramsey County.”

“This is the case despite the historical changes we were able to achieve in collaboration with our law enforcement labor partners during the last negotiation cycle,” she continued. “Upcoming bargaining may present an additional opportunity for us to work collaboratively to balance recruitment and retention issues while at the same time working within the county’s financial parameters.”

The county board votes on the maximum tax levy Tuesday and sets the final levy on Dec. 17, which cannot be over the amount established Tuesday. There was a public hearing on the matter last week, next year’s proposed property tax statement will be mailed to property owners in mid- to late-November and there will be another public hearing in December.

Next year’s proposed budget for the county totals $848.5 million — a five percent increase from the 2024 budget of $808.49 million.

Diversity also affected by pay

The problem of finding and hiring qualified law enforcement is widespread. St. Paul Police Chief Axel Henry told the City Council last week that the department was down 60 officers from its authorized strength of 619, which he said wasn’t as bad as some other agencies, but comes at a high price in overtime to fill shifts.

The city of St. Paul approved 13% in wage increase over three years for officers between this year and 2026. The starting pay for a St. Paul officer is $84,365, according to the St. Paul Police Federation.

The sheriff’s office is short 10 deputies from its allowed number of 188. It’s “not a crisis yet but the trend that we’re seeing of people leaving for higher-paying jobs tells us there will be a crisis,” Fletcher said, adding they’re also seeing fewer people applying because of the salary.

Ramsey County’s deputies starting pay is $66,107. They received wage increases of 15 to 33 percent, spread between 2021 and 2024, in their last contract; the most significant increases were for those who made the least, according to the Ramsey County Deputies’ Federation.

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The union’s members “are appreciative of the strides taken with respect to wages in the last bargaining agreement but, unfortunately, there remains a growing disparity between the pay of Ramsey County deputies and their law enforcement counterparts,” President Allison Schaber wrote last month to the board of commissioners.

Over the last two-and-a-half years, 25 Ramsey County sheriff’s deputies left to go to other agencies, with employees citing wages at their primary reason, Fletcher wrote. It’s estimated those previous employees are now making $14,000 to $25,000 more annually.

“As wages have become less competitive, there is a growing disproportionate impact felt by people of color and women,” Fletcher wrote. “Ramsey County and the Sheriff’s Office have made great strides in building a workforce that is reflective of the community. Many employees who left for similar but higher paying positions were people of color and/or female. This is because other organizations have also recognized the importance of a diverse and reflective workforce.”

Union: Deputies among lowest paid in metro

Ramsey County commissioners approved a pay raise for themselves last summer, which will take effect next year, and adds 3% for board members and 5% for the chairperson. The raise — described as a cost-of-living increase — moves commissioner salaries from $101,280 to $104,077 and the chair from $104,477 to $109,338. In addition, each commissioner will be awarded an annual allowance of $7,200 to cover work-related expenses.

“We applaud this wage increase and encourage the County Board and all county employees to be paid competitively within the marketplace,” Schaber wrote in her letter to the county board. “It is worth noting, however, that even before this modest increase, Ramsey County commissioners were the second highest paid commissioners in the seven-county metropolitan area in 2024. That makes sense given that Ramsey County is the second most populous county … in the state. We therefore think it reasonable for Ramsey County deputies to be the second highest paid deputies in the … metropolitan area.”

Ramsey County deputies’ top base wages rank sixth out of the seven-county metro area — $0.19 an hour above Carver County “and significantly below the other 5 metro-area sheriff’s departments,” Schaber wrote.

All current labor contracts in Ramsey County expire at the end of this year.

“In years where the budget is set before the results of contract negotiations are finalized, the county sets aside a reasonable amount of funding to account for potential increases,” according to Casper Hill, a Ramsey County spokesperson. “Additionally, Human Resources, Finance, the County Manager’s Office and the board are in contact as negotiations progress to ensure resources are identified and plans are in place to fund negotiated contracts.”

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The sheriff’s office provides police services to seven suburbs in Ramsey County and six of their city managers signed onto a letter to Becker late last week, writing that deputies’ need more competitive wages “to maintain a high-quality and diverse law enforcement team.”

“We recognize that achieving wage parity may require additional budgetary considerations, but we strongly believe that the long-term benefits — both in terms of public safety and community trust — will far outweigh the costs,” the letter continued.

Falcon Heights didn’t sign on to the letter; they are in the process of selecting another law enforcement agency after both they and the sheriff’s office agreed a change was needed.