The Aiken County Commission is holding budget workshops and hearing requests from each county department. Among the recent presentations was the Sheriff’s Office.
Sheriff Michael Hunt asked to add four deputies in the Special Operations Division to target gang activity.
“If any police administrator in the country tells you they don’t have gangs, they’re not telling you the truth,” Hunt told commissioners.
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The deputies will handle gang intelligence operations to track the gangs and keep up with their activities.
The unit will also be used for crime suppression when an area sees an increase in gang violence.
Captain Nick Gallam, jail administrator at the Aiken County Detention Center, asked for eight additional jailers.
He said the salary and benefits for the eight employees will be about $404,576 a year.
“We’re in desperate need. This is a critical time to fill positions at the detention center,” said Gallam.
He said they are dealing with more violent offenders, overpopulation and mental health patients who are also in custody.
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Captain Gallam said their annual budget includes $300,000 for overtime pay. In 2020, the jail logged 18,658 total hours of overtime, an average of 212 hours of overtime for each employee, for a total of $558,000 in overtime pay.
The proposed 2021-2022 budget of just over $75 million does not include a tax increase. It has passed its first reading. The vote on the second reading is set for the meeting on June 1 with third vote at the June 15 meeting.
Dana Lynn McIntyre is a Staff Reporter with The Augusta Press. You can reach her at dana@theaugustapress.com.
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