Deputy Sheriff’s Association and county have yet to agree on new contract. Residents voice concern

The Merced County Deputy Sheriff’s Association and the County of Merced have begun the bargaining process but have yet to agree on a new contract.

The DSA, which represents roughly 100 members including coroners, dispatchers and more than 80 sworn officers, rejected Merced County’s last offer of an 8 percent wage increase and 10 percent increase in healthcare caps.

According to Merced County Deputy Sheriff’s Association president Roberto Torres, the county’s offer did not align with what the association saw at the time as an 18-25 percent increase in medical costs for employees. The DSA’s current contract with the county ends in June.

Torres said the sheriff’s office faces problems not only with retention but also with recruitment and those who are leaving aren’t necessarily leaving for larger cities such as in the Bay Area.

“They’re going to agencies in our own backyard,” said Torres. “Stanislaus County, Madera County, agencies within our own backyard.”

Torres said Merced County does not offer wages and benefits competitive with nearby agencies.

“The sheriff’s department, the county is not competitive to surrounding agencies as well,” said Torres. “It’s two problems that need to be addressed to the point where if we don’t, then we’re really going to be—the ship’s pretty much almost sunk.”

According to Torres, a deputy with a spouse and a child pays just over $23,000 a year out of pocket for medical coverage.

When the county presented its current offer at the end of last year, it was done so without the option for any additional dialog, according to Torres. The DSA and the county began bargaining at the end of February and the county has not presented the association any new offers.

Torres said it’s no secret that the agency is heavily understaffed and it appears the agency’s call center will be losing another dispatcher in the coming weeks.

“I’m hoping the county sees that and that they do something,” said Torres.

Merced County Sheriff Vern Wanke has been outspoken and critical of the board of supervisors and the Merced County Executive Officer in recent weeks, over their support of public safety and funding.

In a video posted to social media, Warnke said his hands have by tied by the Merced County Board of Supervisors as the agency continues to face staffing shortages in positions such as deputies, dispatchers and corrections officers. Due to the lack of staffing, the agency will likely refuse to respond to certain types of calls throughout the county, Warnke warned during the video.

Undersheriff Corey Gibson appeared alongside Warnke in the video and said the agency is currently short 21 sheriff’s deputies and is looking at reducing services throughout the county. Gibson said the lack of deputies could force the agency to prioritize in progress calls and calls of violence. According to the sheriff’s office, the agency currently has roughly 10 people going through background checks after applying to positions outside the Merced County Sheriff’s Office.

Warnke said he believes there will be about $8 million remaining in the county budget at the end of the fiscal year and that money could be used to hire additional deputies.

“When I got elected into office, you elected me to run for public safety and I’m doing that now,” said Warnke. “But I don’t see any help, and I mean any help, from the CEO’s office with regard to that.”

According to Gibson, the agency requested a budget increase for the fiscal year but was declined by the Merced County CEO office. Gibson said that when the agency requested funds shortly into the fiscal year, the funds were taken out of the agency’s small tools account rather than using funds from salary savings.

According to Merced County Spokesperson Mike North, the Board of Supervisors has discretion over General Purpose Revenue which totals $126.7 million for the 2023-24 fiscal year final budget. About 74 cents of every available general fund discretionary dollar is dedicated to public safety, according to North.

The Merced County Sheriff’s Office has a total expenditures of $93.5 million, according to the county. A total of $56.4 million goes towards salaries and benefits, while $30.5 million goes towards services and supplies. North said $111,081 goes towards other charges and a total of $230,204 goes towards transfers, which typically represent payment to or from various other Merced County departments for services performed or received between departments.

According to North, the sheriff’s office currently has $6.67 million in its capital assets fund. According to the County of Merced, these numbers do not factor in major capital projects approved by the board.

Several residents spoke on the issue of public safety during a Merced County Board of Supervisors meeting in February, urging the board to do more in support the Merced County Sheriff’s Office.

Atwater resident Rebecca Tucker, 47, was one of several community members to address the board and spoke about how her family has been affected by the staffing shortages at the sheriff’s office. According to Tucker, she and her husband were the victims of forgery by a former family member, who allegedly singed a contract to do work on their property without their permission for a total of $67,000. The Merced County Sheriff’s Office began investigating the felony forgery case in June.

Tucker said her case has been investigated by the one sheriff’s office detective in charge of cell phone data extraction. During that time, Tucker said the detective has taken extended leave and alleges additional crimes have been committed against her family by the same person involved in the alleged forgery. Tucker said her family was granted a civil restraining order against the individual and one of her family member was granted a domestic violence restraining order against the same person.

Tucker wrote a letter detailing her experience and concerns which she delivered to the supervisors in December of 2023. Tucker said her letter went unanswered by the supervisors for more than 2 months.

“For the last eight months we have lived in limbo wondering if and when charges will come,” Tucker said while speaking to the board.

According to Tucker, there are two restraining orders against the individual and she worries that if they were to show up on her rural property, deputies may not respond in adequate time.

She said the entire experience has left her and her family feeling terrified. The couple recently installed security cameras throughout their entire 30-acre property and she and her husband have a CCW permit.

“We want law enforcement to protect us on our property we don’t want to feel like we have to protect ourselves—that’s our only option, we want law enforcement there to protect us,” said 49-year-old Jason Tucker, Rebecca’s husband.

According to District 1 Supervisor and board chairperson Rodrigo Espinosa, who read a prepared statement during the meeting, three out of the five sheriff labor groups have accepted the county’s offer.