The Monroe County Sheriff’s Office is seeking a pay raise that would increase standard deputy salaries to over $87,000 a year.
Read more: City council approves pay increases for police, fire, and other departments
The department is struggling to attract and maintain deputies mainly due to salary. During its presentation to the Monroe County Council last week, the sheriff’s office stated its deputies are currently paid around $10,000 less than similar officer positions with Bloomington Police, Monroe County Community School Corporation and IU-Bloomington Police.
Read more: IUPD raises officer pay across all campuses, outpaces Bloomington police wages
This is the breakdown as presented to the county council:
2025 Salaries for standard officers/deputies (post-probationary training)
- Monroe County Sheriff’s Office: $75,129
- Bloomington Police Department: $82,161
- Monroe County Community School Corporation: $84,500
- IU-Bloomington Police Department: $87,550
Detective Sergeant Nathan Peach said losing deputies could increase response times and strain department resources.
“Which will ultimately compromise the safety of our deputies but more importantly, the very citizens we are sworn to protect,” Peach said.
Sheriff Ruben Marté said time is a factor in this decision.
“My greatest fear, God forbid one day someone doesn’t make it home because we didn’t have the man staff,” Marte said.
The county council chose to put the issue on hold for now, citing fiscal concerns on the county level and at the state level.
Council member Jennifer Crossley said the state’s evolving property tax bill could also have a significant impact on local services such as the sheriff’s office, which is why she felt the issue would be better served with just a bit more time and discussion.
It will be brought to the Long-Term Finance Committee on Feb. 21 for further discussion.