Colo. Sheriff: 'Grossly Underpaid' Deputies Need $600K Budget Bump

El Paso County Sheriff Joe Roybal packed a meeting with deputies on Tuesday to ask the Board of County Commissioners for funds to bridge the gap for what he called "a massive, unacceptable pay disparity" between his and other regional law enforcement agencies.

Roybal asked commissioners for a $600,000 increase in funds for 2025 in the county's preliminary balanced budget, to be matched with funds from the Sheriff's Office public-safety sales-tax revenue pool.

An El Paso County deputy is paid less overall than other Front Range sheriff's deputies, according to statistics Roybal showed from the National Fraternal Order of Police. Roybal claimed El Paso County, with a starting salary of $72,696 and a maximum salary of $92,664, was "dead last" among comparable agencies.

Douglas County's website says it pays $78,988 starting, and Jefferson County says it pays $73,420. A starting Colorado Springs police salary is $72,108 a year.

The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that $72,280 was the median salary last year for a police officer or deputy nationally.

Some comparable agencies do fall under the El Paso County starting salary, according to their public salary listings. Boulder County, according to its website, pays deputies a starting salary of about $69,684. The Pueblo County Sheriff's Office pays a starting salary of $63,924, according to Pueblo County records for 2022. For both, Roybal claimed the maximum salary is higher than the amount possible for an El Paso County sheriff's deputy.

During the presentation, Roybal highlighted what he considered positive changes at the Sheriff's Office during his tenure. In January 2023, the Sheriff's Office switched medical providers from Wellpath to VitalCore Strategies at the El Paso County jail after multiple high-profile in-custody deaths in 2022 and 2023, including one that resulted in a $1 million lawsuit settlement.

Roybal said that the provider change had made the jail safer for inmates.

Colorado Springs City Council to begin public 2025 budget discussions this week

This week the Colorado Springs City Council will begin holding public discussions on Mayor Yemi Mobolade's proposed $939 million city budget for 2025.

This year has seen two recent jail deaths. Zacharia Joseph Spriggs, 33, was found unresponsive in his cell on Sept. 11 after a possible attempted suicide. On Oct. 7, a 54-year-old man in custody who was undergoing medical treatment for a terminal illness was found unresponsive in the jail's medical housing unit and later declared dead at the scene.

Roybal also said that the Sheriff's Office under his leadership has achieved full staffing for the first time in eight years, which he credited to fostering a sense of "culture and heritage" in the agency that was formed in the 1860s.

"I believe I'm fully staffed today despite my deputies being grossly underpaid because they feel heard, appreciated, and they have a new sense of pride," he said.

County commissioners were generally supportive of the salary budget request, praising the Sheriff's Office's advocacy on the state legislative level for law enforcement and for its continued work in the county. The budget will be voted on later this year.

"I believe the request is reasonable," said Commissioner Holly Williams.

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