Since taking office 17 months ago, some local officials have engaged in a public effort to create the illusion that the Bradley County Sheriff’s Office is wasting taxpayer money in its operation. So I have decided to set the record straight.

When Bradley County deputies continue to drive 33 vehicles with over 250,000+ miles on them, not counting the 20 vehicles with 150,000+ miles ~ that is not wasting taxpayer money. However, it would be a waste of taxpayer money if one of those unsafe, unreliable vehicles were involved in an avoidable accident with injuries due to mechanical failure. That could create a huge liability for the county and even result in a lawsuit that would cost more than the money to replace the entire BCSO fleet.

The BCSO Drug Fund doesn’t involve any taxpayer money. It is totally funded through drug seizures and the hard work of our drug detectives and patrol deputies. Through this drug fund, the BCSO pays the salaries and benefits of six employees and has financed the tax-free purchase of 40 vehicles with less than150,000 that are currently in use. The drug fund is also used to pay 21 percent of the garage lease ~ that is not wasting taxpayer money.

The average wage of our deputies is 23 to 25 percent behind their city counterparts and the regional average. The starting salary of a BCSO deputy is $26,000, as opposed to a $32,000 starting salary for their city and regional counterparts in departments of the same size and responsibilities ~ that is not wasting taxpayer money.

When the BCSO houses federal inmates, state inmates and inmates from Polk County and performs a whole host of other functions that bring over $4 million into the general fund ~ that is not wasting taxpayer money.  And certainly, that $4 million off-sets the operational costs of the BCSO by a significant amount.

When we have reduced emergency response time across the county by over two minutes since I’ve taken office ~ that is not wasting taxpayer money. That is saving lives.

When we’ve been able to reduce burglaries by 30 percent and double the burglary arrests over last year ~ that is not wasting taxpayer money. That is protecting your property and saving you money.

When you consider that the BCSO covers an area of 333 square miles, answers a substantially higher number of calls, serves a larger population and shoulders more statutory responsibility with less personnel and less funding than our city counterparts ~ that is not wasting taxpayer money.

We have achieved a 45 percent clearance rate of all crime in Bradley County. That is 15 percent above the national average ~ that is not wasting taxpayer money. That is a tremendous success story and one you don’t read about in our local media.

We have reduced outstanding warrants, bringing more law breakers to justice and increasing revenues through the courts ~ that is not wasting taxpayer money.

When someone tells you, or when you read somewhere, that the BCSO is  wasting money, don’t you believe it. A few short weeks ago, the mayor and county commission chose to go to court rather than properly fund the BCSO to meet the increasing demands of a county that now has a population of close to 100,000. In addition, they refused to consider two compromise proposals that would have prevented the petition ever reaching the courts. They brought in three national experts who testified under oath in a court of law that they had analyzed and evaluated the BCSO independently of each other and they all concluded the administration, performance and ability to effectively manage resources at the BCSO was far superior to comparable agencies.

Does that sound like we are wasting taxpayer money? Well, nothing has changed. We are still doing the same high-quality job we have always done.

So, on the one hand, you can’t go into court and talk about how efficient the BCSO is in managing existing resources and fulfilling our statutory duties in an exemplary manner, and using that to indicate that we don’t need any more funding; and then, on the other hand, go to a county commission meeting or a finance meeting and claim before the public how inefficient and wasteful we are. The mayor and county commission cannot have it both ways. In fact, after 17 months, their political motives are crystal clear. And after 17 months, it is time for it to stop. It is time for the mayor and county commission to show some support for the deputies of the BCSO. They need to stop playing political games and show more concern for the safety of our citizens and the deputies who protect them. It’s time to acknowledge the success of the BCSO and reward those deputies for a job well done; not just well done, but done in an exemplary manner, as evidenced by the county’s own expert witnesses.

It is time to reward those men and women by reinstating their merit pay plan, adjusted to today’s cost of living and comparable to the City of Cleveland. The mayor and county commission took the merit pay away from the BCSO a number of years ago, promising that they would reinstate it in the following budget year. But that was over five years ago and the mayor and commission have yet to reinstate the merit pay plan they took away, or even discuss it at their meetings. This alone will help reduce the high turnover rate of deputies who leave the BCSO at an average rate of 30+ per year seeking better pay and benefits elsewhere. That will stop wasting taxpayer money.It is time to replace those dilapidated, high-mileage patrol cars that create an unsafe situation on the highways for deputies and citizens. Reliable vehicles will also help us further reduce emergency response time. That will stop wasting taxpayer money, and help save lives, too.