Jul. 29—Significant changes were made to Kern County law enforcement contracts on Tuesday, including wage increases, hybrid schedules and other amendments officials agree will help retain staff.

The Kern County Board of Supervisors unanimously approved changes including a 3% salary increase for each year through 2026; longevity pay, offered at 2.5% every five years, to be capped at 20 years of service; and the ability to cash out unused vacation and compensatory time off in November. Officials also amended work schedules, allowing for leave hours to count toward meeting an employee's 40-hour workweek before they can access overtime.

"The total package included in the MOU provides strong incentives for our sworn law enforcement officers to remain with the Sheriff's Office or District Attorney's Office for their careers," according to a county staff report released July 20.

Kern County Sheriff Donny Youngblood pointed to one change — longevity pay — as what will have a major impact on retaining those considering an early retirement.

"The people that have an early retirement are able to leave at 47, 48 years old and go make a living doing something else," Youngblood said. "When you have longevity pay spread over years, and pay raises spread over years, you at least have a tendency to at least have them another four years."

These new changes, sanctified through several memorandums of understanding, were negotiated with two unions — the Kern County Sheriff's Command Association and Kern Law Enforcement Association — which represent the county sheriff's commanders, lieutenants and deputies, as well as investigators employed by the county's District Attorney's Office.

According to Tim Caughron, president of KLEA, talks were initiated by Kern County staff, who agreed the county is suffering from continued vacancies and crippling retention rates.

"This contract focused on the retention aspect, whereas in the past we've focused on recruiting," Caughron said.

Over the last few years, Caughron has seen the sheriff's ranks suffer a loss of 20-plus departures each year. Currently, the county is short an estimated 60 deputy sheriffs and 10 district attorney investigators.

"As we bring people in the front door, they just keep going out the back door," Caughron said. "We're really facing a critical shortage."

In total, the changes come at a fiscal impact of about $7.5 million in next year's budget; $10.7 million in the 2024-25 fiscal year; and $13.7 million in the 2025-26 fiscal year, when the memorandums expire.

The raises and other changes, unlike the management raises also approved by the Board of Supervisors on Tuesday, will be funded through Measure K, a 1-cent sales tax levied in the unincorporated areas of Kern that officials expect to reap $56 million for next year's county budget.

"With the money starting to come in, I think the county recognized that they were in a position to not have to wait long to make changes," Caughron said.

A recent salary comparison by the county's Human Resources Division found that Kern deputy sheriffs made about 8% less than the average pay for for the same job classification in other counties. Officials acknowledge that in Kern, with an already small hiring pool, many leave the area to go and work for a better paying department, leaving its ranks threadbare.

But with these changes, coupled with a 4% cost-of-living increase and a 22% salary bump for detention deputies both approved earlier this year, officials are hopeful.

"This year, we've already gotten lateral transfers that we've never gotten before," Youngblood said. "We went 10 years with none and I think we had 10 in the last 30 days ... so we know it's having a positive impact."