Greg Duke
Bartholomew County Sheriff Sheriff Matt Myers has decided to weigh in on what he describes as the “contentious county council salary debate.”
Myers is referring to a proposal to raise the salaries of 218 Bartholomew County employees up to the average or middle-ground pay of those doing the same jobs in other counties. The proposal, which came from a study conducted by consultant Kent Irwin, failed in the county council on April 12, stalling on a tie.
Potential salary increases will not impact Myers, who cannot seek reelection this year due to term limits. Nor will it boost the wages of merit deputies compensated on a matrix pay scale, which offers several levels of pay based on various factors such as performance, time spent on the job, education and training.
Myers put out a press release late last week stating that three council members made statements during the debate that the sheriff said did not represent the full truth.
The statement mentioned several council members, including Greg Duke, who retired from the sheriff’s department in August 2019 and is now a school resource officer in Brown County.
Last fall, Duke was chosen by GOP precinct committee members to fill out the term of Laura DeDomenic, who resigned after moving out of her council district. Duke is facing a GOP challenge from Leah Beyer in the primary for County Council District 2.
Duke’s statement that adopting Irwin’s salary survey amounted to shirking council responsibility, according to Myers, is not based on facts, data or even reason.
As council president, Duke was aware that county Auditor Pia O’Conner had instructed each department head to go through Irwin’s data and correct errors before being asked to apply their best judgement, the sheriff said.
“The work was already done by all of our department heads and each recommendation was spelled out in an easy-to- understand format,” Myers said. “Greg Duke made each department head feel as if they could not be trusted and had flawed judgement. “
Myers urged Duke to consider that department heads know their people and work better than the council.
The sheriff also said 42-year council member Evelyn Pence, as well as Duke, both stated they would disregard Irwin’s salary study because they both voted against commissioning Irwin last September.
“Democracy says that the majority rules,” Myers said. “Once the vote was taken to initiate the wage survey, it is anti-democratic to say I don’t agree and therefore chose to vote against the data.”
After meeting with other county officials Monday, Duke issued the following prepared response on Tuesday:
“It seems to me that Mr. Myers’ opinions are ill-informed and mistaken in his assertions. The council desires fair and adequate compensation for all employees. Even now, meetings and interviews are being conducted with elected officials and department heads, identifying problems. Through careful study and deliberation, I hope and believe we can achieve successful policy.”
Myers also said council member Bill Lentz stated repeatedly that he wanted to hear from the department heads before he could make a decision to vote yes on any motion.
“The fact was every department head combed through the data diligently and submitted their feedback on time back to the council,” Myers said. “It was in (the council’s) pre-read material and was either not read or considered given (Lentz’s) comments.”
In response, Lentz said he’s not sure why the sheriff has decided to speak out on the matter at this time, and does not believe his allegations are accurate.
However, the council member reiterated earlier statements that it’s important for him to talk with each department head informally “over a cup of coffee” to ensure they approve of giving one employee a pay hike, while not raising a similar worker’s pay.
Lentz said he’s heard from eight department heads this week, and, according to the councilman, all told him they still see errors or have concerns about the salary study.
“I’m all for giving employee raises, but I just want to make sure we do it right, Lentz said.
In his statement, Myers said if there are questions, these should be addressed prior to the council’s next meeting.
“The council members knew when they asked for the survey that there was a problem. I am simply asking them to put in the time required to understand the data and state
clearly their position based on facts, data and reason. I am also asking the council to at least acknowledge the work that has been done and trust that the department heads did this work honorably.”
Myers said he has learned many things serving as sheriff for nearly eight years. “One of the largest lessons is to always be data based and remove emotion and politics from key decisions. I again applaud the council for initiating the salary survey but ask them to complete whatever work is required to make an informed decision.”
