A plan to restructure the Clallam County Sheriff’s Department calls for position changes, additional deputies and pay raises for top personnel — including the sheriff.
All proposals are within the department’s current budget, Sheriff Joe Hawe said, including the $11,452 pay raise for himself.
“I know the pay raise is a hot issue, but to me it’s not the hot issue,” Hawe said.
County Commissioner Steve Tharinger, D-Sequim, said it is too early to comment on the proposed changes.
“I think they’re really kind of premature at this point,” he said. “It’d be kind of hard for me to comment.”
Currently, Hawe, who was first elected in 1990, makes $64,298 per year. With the pay raise proposed, Hawe would receive $75,750 annually — a 17.8 percent increase.
Hawe’s salary increase would put the sheriff’s pay above that of the operations undersheriff for the first time since Hawe was elected, he said.
“The sheriff has historically made less than the undersheriff,” Hawe said.
This full report appears in the Peninsula Daily News’ Clallam County edition. Order your copy delivered to your home or office by clicking onto “Subscribe.”