JAMESTOWN — The Stutsman County Commission has unanimously approved rank changes and pay increases for employees of the Stutsman County Sheriff’s Office and State’s Attorney’s Office.

The current changes will come into effect on July 1, 2022.

Personnel affected by rank and salary increases within the Sheriff’s Office include Major/Deputy, Deputy Sheriff Sergeant, and Deputy Sheriffs I, II, and III. The position of Deputy Sheriff I is currently vacant.

The new rank increments for Sheriff’s Office positions are as follows: Deputy Sheriff I, 11 to 12; Deputy Sheriff II, 12-13; Deputy Sheriff III, 13-14; deputy sheriff sergeant, 15 to 16; and Major/Deputy, 16 to 17.

Salary increases for Sheriff’s Office positions ranged from approximately 4.7% to 5.1%.

Commissioner Joan Morris said at the county commission meeting on Tuesday, July 6 that she wanted to do a little more research on the rank and salary increases for the positions of sheriff and deputy chief.

The personnel affected by the rank and salary increases within the State’s Attorney’s Office include Assistant Prosecutors I and II. The position of Deputy Prosecutor II is currently vacant.

The new rank increases for the State’s Attorney’s Office are as follows: Assistant State’s Attorney I, 18 to 20; and Assistant Prosecutor II, 20-22.

Salary increases for positions in the State’s Attorney’s Office are approximately 10.1% to 15.4%.

Morris said the project to increase grades and salaries for several positions in each department began because it was difficult to hire employees in both departments.

Shannon Davis, county human resources manager, said the rank changes and salary increases put Stutsman County in a more competitive position to recruit and retain employees for both departments.

Stutsman County Sheriff Chad Kaiser said the rank changes and pay increases for entry-level positions are in line with the Jamestown Police Department.

“We are now with them where we were before,” he said. “As long as we maintain that whatever the COLA (cost of living adjustment) is and as long as they progress (get increments), if that holds true and we maintain it. What happens is if you don’t get a COLA, you don’t get a step, everyone drops out, and then we start regrouping.

Stutsman County State’s Attorney Fritz Fremgen said his office lost staff to Cass County. He said the county is in a “bidding war” with employees in his office.

“I’m happy to see what the recommendation is,” he said. “I support it, it’s a good change, it’s a healthy change.”

The county commission could act on rank changes and pay increases for the sheriff, chief deputy and state attorney at its next meeting on July 19.

Kaiser told the commission that he visited the Ringdahl EMS ambulance garage to see if vehicles from the sheriff’s office could be stored in the building. He said the cost of the building is around $870,000.

He said he wasn’t sure all of the sheriff’s office vehicles would fit in the building.

The commission took no action on Kaiser’s update.

Kaiser had previously told the commission that a heated storage building was needed to equip the sheriff’s office. The Stutsman County Sheriff’s Office leases part of the North Dakota National Guard’s maintenance shop.

The sheriff’s office received bids in June for a 150-by-60-foot storage building from Hillerud Construction Inc. and Roers Construction.

Hillerud Construction Inc.’s total base bid was over $1.2 million and included a deductive alternative of over $29,400, which would put the base bid at just under $1. .2 million.

Roers Construction’s total base offer was over $1.7 million and included a deductive alternative of $80,000, which would bring the base offer to over $1.6 million.

Kaiser said offers are good until early August.

In other cases, the county commission unanimously approved:

• the purchase of Kenwood radios for the Stutsman County Sheriff’s Office. The purchase includes 24 portable radios, 16 split mobile radios, three portable mobile radios and two chargers for a total of nearly $159,000. Kaiser said the sheriff’s office will receive a refund of $64,500, bringing the total cost of the Kenwood equipment down to about $94,400.
• a short-term loan of approximately $117,000 to the Township of St. Paul. Tom Kleven, township president, said the township had to pay $98,000 to the contractor and $19,000 to Interstate Engineering before receiving $117,000 from the state.