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'It sets the tone for instability:' People leaving Bibb Sheriff's Office after commissioner votes against pay increase

Commissioners passed a budget that did not include a pay raise for members of the Bibb County Sheriff's Office and other county employees

Investigator Kenneth Hester's workload is more than a thousand cases. He filed his resignation letter Wednesday after more than a decade with Bibb County law enforcement. "I don't want to change careers. I really love my job," Hester. 

He's leaving to be a truck driver, saying he can earn up to $5,000 a week. Instead of working at the sheriff's office with 3 jobs on the side, he says after 13 years, he makes around $38,000 a year.

Sheriff David Davis says exit interview surveys show why his people are leaving -- pay and benefits. Davis says they can't compete with other counties working to take his highly-trained employees.

"At the City of Forest Park Police Department, by just walking in the door, a recruit is at $40,000, and that's no training at all -- that's 8,000 more than what a deputy makes," said Davis. 

He was hoping Bibb County commissioners would include a raise for county employees in their budget since they've been consistently 100 people short.

"It sets the tone for the instability," said Davis. 

Hester says it's too late for him, but other people in his office would love to see county commissioners invest in their futures.

"They're are building parks and revitalizing downtown, and my question to them is, 'Who is going to protect it?'" said Hester.

Commissioners proposed a study to have a  pay scale adjustment and commissioner Al Tilman says he's trying to find a way to add incentives or bonuses for law enforcement.

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