Doa Ana County commissioners award pay raises to sheriff’s command staff

Doña Ana County commissioners voted 4 to 1 Tuesday to give raises to the sheriff’s command staff.

“This was the best thing that could have happened today,” said Doña Ana County Sheriff Enrique “Kiki” Vigil.

Because union-member deputies and sergeants recently received $1.5 million in court-ordered raises, some command staff members within the department were making less money than the sergeants they oversee.

“(A sergeant’s) hourly salary is actually more than my captains and lieutenants,” Vigil said. “So, there would be no incentives for them to promote.”

Command staff members within the department and not union eligible, so they did not receive raises with the court-ordered decision.

“It (was) such a huge hit to the bottom line, which is the paycheck, for any officer to promote within this organization,” said Captain John Day.

However now, five lieutenants, three captains and one major will see raises, although it’s not clear exactly how much. The money will come from within the sheriff’s budget.

“I’m glad to see that we’re going to move forward now, be competitive with our sister agency, Las Cruces Police Department, and hopefully attract some qualified personnel up into the command rank,” Day said.

Vigil said the recent raises within his department have already helped with retention and attracting new additions to the department.

“As we’re speaking, we have all these applicants now applying to come on board,” Vigil said. “Now, they’ve seen that they’re going to get paid more. (We’re seeing) lateral transfers from other agencies – they’re now inquiring.”