County Sheriff Seeks 11% Funding Increase; Three Additional Deputies Sought

SNOW HILL – Three new officers, increased overtime costs and the need to update equipment highlighted the budget request presented by Sheriff Reggie Mason this week.

During a work session Tuesday, Mason presented the Worcester County Commissioners with a request for just under $8 million in funding for the coming year. The request is 11 percent more than the department received for the current fiscal year.

“I know it’s hard and money is tight but if we want to keep Worcester County safe I need money and equipment to do the job,” Mason said.

The budget proposed by Mason includes a 9 percent increase in personnel funding to allow for the hiring of three new deputies and to cover rising overtime costs. The department had $237,910 budgeted for overtime in FY 2017 but as of Dec. 31 had already exceeded that amount. This year, Mason is requesting $463,409 for overtime.

He said the overtime spending was related to the stress placed on the department by the number of officers on medical leave as well as by the need to assist the Ocean City Police Department during special events in the resort.

“We have an increase in overtime,” Lt. Ed Schreier said. “It’s partly due to assisting the Town of Ocean City in their special events and those special events not only in town. They bleed out into the county where we have an influx of people coming in.”

Commissioner Chip Bertino asked if hiring three new deputies would alleviate some of the department’s overtime spending.

“We would hope that it would but the nature of law enforcement being unpredictable I can’t say yes or no,” Schreier said.

Lt. Neil Adams said the new officers would definitely help the department meet its minimum staffing requirements. He said there were times when the department lately had had to use overtime to do that.

“If someone’s out sick and then we have training it will take overtime to fill that spot,” he said.

Adams said he expected Ocean City officials to continue to seek the support of sheriff’s department.

“Unfortunately Ocean City, the way they’re going with seasonals, I think they’re only hiring rumor has it 50-70 seasonals this year,” he said. “In years past, they’ve had 150 seasonals.”

Following the large fight that occurred on the Boardwalk last June, Adams said resort officials asked Mason to provide support in Ocean City on the weekends. Adams said deputies spent 838 hours assisting Ocean City with coverage downtown and on the Boardwalk.

Bertino asked whether Maryland State Police (MSP) offered Ocean City the support of its officers. Adams said MSP typically sent officers to Ocean City during special events but didn’t have enough officers to send personnel every weekend. Schreier agreed.

“They send a contingent of troopers down but the barracks are so short staffed they’re fighting for people,” he said.

In addition to the increase in personnel funding, the department is also requesting an 11 percent increase in capital funding to purchase new vehicles. Adams said the increase would cover vehicles for the three new deputies as well as a handful of replacement vehicles. He added that most of the vehicles being replaced were approaching 200,000 miles. He said the average sheriff’s department vehicle was in service for nine years.

About The Author: Charlene Sharpe

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Charlene Sharpe has been with The Dispatch since 2014. A graduate of Stephen Decatur High School and the University of Richmond, she spent seven years with the Delmarva Media Group before joining the team at The Dispatch.