Hempstead County sheriff wants voluntary tax to fund pay raises

TEXARKANA — The Hempstead County sheriff is proposing a voluntary tax as a "last-ditch effort" to fund pay raises for deputies and jailers.

The Texarkana Gazette reports that Sheriff James Singleton says deputies earn nearly $25,000 a year. He says that's the lowest salary for the job in the 10 counties in southwest Arkansas he analyzed.

Singleton says a lack of pay raises has caused a "constant revolving door" at the county's expense. He says seven deputies have left since 2010 because of pay.

Singleton sent a letter to the county's Quorum Court, which discussed the proposal on Thursday but took no action.

County Judge Haskell Morse says he supports the plan to use a voluntary tax to fund pay raises.

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