CINCINNATI — The Hamilton County Board of Commissioners this week is set to approve a pay raise for correctional sergeants, lieutenants and captains working at the jail. At the same time, lower-ranking correctional officers are fighting for higher wages in a new contract.
"Day-to-day, they are surrounded by and dealing with the most dangerous of people," said Dan Hils, president of Frontline Advisors, the group trying to negotiate higher wages for correctional officers. "They deserve to be compensated for that, it's the only way that Hamilton County stays safe, is to have a correctional facility that is ran, and ran by competent people and you have to attract them because they're having a great problem with recruitment and retention."
For correctional officers watching over inmates at the Hamilton County Jail, the starting salary is $45,271.59, which comes out to about $21.77 an hour.
On Monday, WCPO 9 News requested an on-camera interview with Hamilton County Sheriff Charmaine McGuffey, but we were told she wasn't available. However, on August 22, 2023, during a presentation at the Hamilton County Board of Commissioners meeting, McGuffey acknowledged the hiring challenges within the county, as it budgets for 308 full-time positions at the jail. Back then, there were 233 positions.
"We will become one of the agencies who buck the trend and get enough staff," McGuffey said. "My prediction is by the end of '24 or midway through 2024, we should be, and I'm going to say it this way, fairly fully staffed."
But Frontline Advisors said Hamilton County still needs to hire dozens more officers to be considered fully staffed. Hils believes higher pay will attract more correctional officers.
So how does Hamilton County compare to correctional officer pay in surrounding counties? Hamilton County paid better than Kenton County, which starts correctional officers at $45,032, or $21.65 an hour. However, Butler and Clermont counties offered higher salaries at $45,697.60 and $47,069 a year, respectively. Campbell County also offered a higher starting salary at $45,988.80. It's one more reason why Hils is pushing for higher wages.
"I'm hurt, I'm irritated that our correction deputies are getting paid less than others, others who aren't facing quite the number of bad guys that our correctional guys have to," Hils said.
WCPO 9 News also reached out to the Hamilton County Board of Commissioners. On Monday, a spokesperson told us they are not able to comment on active negotiations.
