DuPage considering pay hike for sheriff's supervisors

DuPage County Board members on Tuesday postponed action on a request to boost the salaries of supervisors in the sheriff's department.

Sheriff John Zaruba has told board members that in some cases his deputies are being paid almost as much as their supervisors.

Board members say they recognize the problem.

The challenge, they say, is that it's unknown how much money will remain in DuPage's budget once the county is done negotiating a new contract with unionized deputies who work at the jail. That issue won't be resolved until an arbitration decision comes down in January.

So the board might have to wait several months before considering a proposal to boost pay for sheriff's office supervisors.

"I think we're setting ourselves up for failure if we do this now and don't wait until after January to do it," board member Robert Larsen said during Tuesday's finance committee meeting.

The delay comes several months after sheriff's officials argued that supervisors aren't being adequately compensated for their work.

Deputies have had consistent salary increases because of union negotiations. However, their supervisors aren't represented by a union and don't get the same amount of overtime pay.

As a result, Zaruba said in August that deputies are "almost surpassing" supervisors in terms of pay.

The sheriff's office is requesting additional money for the next five years to widen the gap between what deputies and supervisors make.

Under the proposal, pay for sergeants and lieutenants would start at $61,646 a year and $69,043 a year, respectively. Starting pay for deputies is $52,022 annually.

But it would cost the county $536,000 a year to fund that plan, so less expensive measures may need to be considered.

Board member Paul Fichtner said the county is expected to have an extra $500,000 because it saved money on health insurance. However, there are other county departments also seeking extra money.

"The sheriff is in the mix with everybody else," said Fichtner, who is chairman of the board's finance committee.