The Hamilton County Board of Commissioners this week is set to approve a pay raise for correctional sergeants, lieutenants and captains working at the jail. At the same time, lower-ranking correctional officers are fighting for higher wages in a new contract.
“Day-to-day, they are surrounded by and dealing with the most dangerous of people,” said Dan Hils, president of Frontline Advisors, the group trying to negotiate higher wages for correctional officers. “They deserve to be compensated for that, it’s the only way that Hamilton County stays safe, is to have a correctional facility that is ran, and ran by competent people and you have to attract them because they’re having a great problem with recruitment and retention.”
Hamilton County Board of Commissioners For correctional officers watching over inmates at the Hamilton County Jail, the starting salary is $45,271.59, which comes out to about $21.77 an hour.
On Monday, WCPO 9 News requested an on-camera interview with Hamilton County Sheriff Charmaine McGuffey, but we were told she wasn’t available. However, on August 22, 2023, during a presentation at the Hamilton County Board of Commissioners meeting, McGuffey acknowledged the hiring challenges within the county, as it budgets for 308 full-time positions at the jail. Back then, there were 233 positions.