Sheriff's office asks Northumberland supervisors to fund one‑time 5% hardship supplement for full‑time staff

Alan Garland, chief deputy of the Northumberland County Sheriff’s Office, asked the Board of Supervisors on May 12 to allow the department to use $103,199.86 of year‑end salary and part‑time savings to pay a one‑time 5% hardship supplement to full‑time employees.

“For the record, Alan Garland, chief deputy of the sheriff's office,” Garland said, and told the board the office will have “approximately a $118,000 left in our salaries and part time line items.” He said the sheriff’s office is requesting “to use $103,199.86 of that to provide all full time employees with a one time 5% hardship supplement before the end of this fiscal year.”

Garland said the funds are not newly appropriated money but are already allocated to the sheriff’s office and could be deployed to recognize employees who stayed through sustained staffing shortages. He pointed to recent revenue and grant activity that helped the office’s bottom line: auctioning old vehicles beginning in 2021 and a $288,000 non‑matching equipment grant in 2024. “This has given the county an additional $96,888 by us doing that,” he said, adding the office brought nearly $385,000 into the county through those efforts and returns to the county from budget adherence over recent years.

Garland framed the supplement as a retention and appreciation measure after prolonged understaffing. He said the office’s dispatchers answered 11,556 calls last year and the patrol deputies responded to 7,359 calls, work often handled with fewer than full staffing levels. “We are fully staffed in both dispatch and deputy positions, and I would love to keep it that way,” Garland said.

Board members asked clarifying questions about headcount and whether part‑time staff would be included; Garland estimated roughly 40 full‑time employees would be eligible and said bailiffs are part‑time and not included. A supervisor asked how to explain the supplement to school employees who did not receive a similar payment; Garland replied, “Well, first of all, it's not a salary increase. This is a onetime, supplement,” noting that school staff have other stipend and bonus opportunities that do not exist for sheriff's office positions.

Garland also noted the compensation board is expected to issue a 2% bonus on June 1 that could offset the request by roughly $20,000, but said the sheriff’s office was prepared to use its own savings if needed.

There was no formal vote on the request during the May 12 work session. Staff indicated they could re‑run calculations or provide additional detail; the board moved on to broader budget discussions and scheduled follow‑up work sessions to continue review.