Sheriff asks county leaders to boost starting salaries, upgrade pay scales in FY26
Worcester County’s sheriff told elected officials he expects an “exodus” of deputies leaving his agency for better-paying jurisdictions if they don’t vote to increase salaries.
Sheriff Matt Crisafulli is asking county leaders to budget for higher starting salaries and upgraded salary scales for current sworn deputies in the fiscal year 2026 budget, to combat salary trends that may lure away his employees.
“If we don’t address this now, we will have an exodus from the sheriff’s office,” Crisafulli told county commissioners at a budget hearing Tuesday in Snow Hill. “We are the premiere law enforcement agency in this county, and I believe we should be compensated as such.”
First-year sheriff’s deputies are paid $55,000 now, but Crisafulli is asking the commissioners to increase the starting salary to $64,632.
It’s a hair shy of the average starting pay of $63,644 for police agencies on Delmarva, according to an internal study conducted by the sheriff’s office.
Crisafulli argued that losing veterans to lateral transfers means not just a loss of institutional knowledge in the job and community but represents a sunk cost to the county – sending them to the police academy, plus paying for salary, benefits, and training – of about $120,000 each.
“We’ve crafted them, we’ve molded them – then we need to start over,” the sheriff said.
Crisafulli’s budget also is requesting about $1.1 million more in payroll, which includes tiered pay grade increases for 96 deputies, corporals and sergeants, as well as raises for nine senior-level deputies.
Seriously? “Commissioner Diana Purnell (District 2, Central) asked the sheriff about future requests. “Say you got what you asked for,” she said. “What about next year? Will you be back next year asking for more officers?” said the Commissioner who can’t get enough $$ for WCPS who have MANDATED MOE!