SUMNER COUNTY, Tenn. (WKRN) — A budget dispute in Sumner County.

The Sumner County Sheriff’s Office is looking to maintain raises for its senior level staff, known as “step raises.” Currently, only the sheriff’s office and Sumner County EMS benefit from step raises.

But this year, the funding for step raises, which exceeds $200,000, has been removed from the county's proposed budget.

During a special-called budget committee meeting on Wednesday, Sumner County Sheriff Eric Craddock said the long-running system has helped their recruitment and retention efforts. 

“Step raises in law enforcement are paramount when you talk about retaining your qualified employees," Craddock told the committee. "It’s the standard across the board if you look at places like Lebanon, Gallatin, Hendersonville, THP. All of your law enforcement agencies have step raises."

Craddock encouraged the committee to reconsider the budget to include step raises for his personnel, among other changes for his department.

“We have people that are prior-certified that want to come work at the sheriff’s office; step raises are one of their concerns," Craddock said. "I would just implore you guys to add the step raises back; that’s huge in the law enforcement community."

Meanwhile, the budget committee wants step raises to include other county agencies to be more balanced. If approved, the sheriff’s office would have to wait for the implementation to take effect before getting their raises.

“We give a percentage-based COLA, then we give each department head a small amount that they can structure as a step raise or a bonus… however they see fit. And then we’re done,” Sumner County Commissioner and Budget Committee Chair Matthew Shoaf explained.

In a statement to News 2, Shoaf elaborated on these budget discussions. 

I expect that the (2026) budget will be passed during the next commission meeting. There may be a couple small things that some commissioners want to modify from the floor, but I don’t see these as huge obstacles. That’s pretty normal.

With respect to step raises, I understand both arguments. The commission is trying to solve a long standing problem to implement an opt-in step raise system county wide that’s fair for everyone. 

On the other hand, some departments already have a step system in place and feel their ask to fund it shouldn’t have to wait for a county wide system to be implemented.

I could see this one going either direction on the floor, but no matter what happens - our intent is to solve it no later than the end of this year, and sooner if at all possible.

Sumner County District 22 Commissioner Matthew Shoaf

News 2 contacted the Sumner County Sheriff’s Office for a comment. They declined to give one on Friday.

News Source : https://www.wkrn.com/news/local-news/sumner-countys-new-budget-could-remove-step-raises-for-sheriffs-office/