JEFFERSON CITY — A Cole County judge has rejected a request by county officials in Missouri to overturn a new law that will result in pay raises for some sheriffs.
The County Commissioners Association of Missouri filed a lawsuit in November arguing that changes outlined in a sweeping police reform bill leave them with no power to set the salaries for the top law enforcement job in their counties.
The lawsuit argued that the law violates a state ban on including multiple subjects in one bill.
But Circuit Judge Dan Green, in a 16-page decision, disagreed, writing that the provision affecting sheriffs’ salaries falls under the broad scope of the law and the title of the final bill that was signed by Gov. Mike Parson, a former county sheriff.
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“The matter of adequately compensating those trusted with keeping the public safe is self-evidently related to public safety,” Green wrote.
The changes were included in one part of a sweeping bill approved by the Legislature in 2021.
Among other provisions are restrictions on police chokeholds, the end of a residency rule for Kansas City police officers and a ban on police having sex with people in their custody.
The pay provision was added late in the process as part of the wide-ranging legislative deal-making that often occurs late in the General Assembly's annual session.
The new law requires a sheriff’s compensation in certain counties to be set at 80% of an associate circuit judge’s salary of $145,334, or about $115,000. At the time, supporters of the legislation said the resulting raises would make it easier to recruit and retain law enforcement personnel.
A provision of the law allows the raises to be spread over a five-year period.
Sheriffs in other counties would be paid at 45% to 65% of an associate circuit judge’s salary, depending on the assessed value of property in the county.
Before the change was put into law, a sheriff’s pay typically was set by a county salary commission.
The lawsuit argued the law ties the hands of local elected officials on budgetary issues.
“As a result of (the law,) county salary commissions no longer have any authority over the compensation of county sheriffs, including increases in compensation,” the lawsuit noted.
“Setting predictable and comparatively higher salaries for county sheriffs has a positive effect on public safety,” Green said.
Attorneys for the county organization were not immediately available for comment.
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February 23, 2022 at 10:38PM
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Missouri counties lose bid to control salaries of sheriffs - STLtoday.com
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