‘We’re hiring’, is the message the Door County Sheriff Department wants to get out. Sheriff Tammy Sternard and the Judiciary and Public Safety Committee requested to spend up to $24,000 on a recruitment campaign and sign on bonuses for new jail staff, and received the approval nod Tuesday from the County Administrative committee.
Sheriff Sternard said the DCSD, like so many businesses on the peninsula, struggles to attract and retain employees. Especially when their competition includes Brown and Kewaunee Counties, larger areas with more options.
The Sheriff and County Administration received approval to reallocate funds toward a graduated sign-on bonus of $2,000 for new jailers, with bonus money provided after the employee meets time benchmarks. The recruitment campaign would also include $8,000 for recruitment advertising. County Administrator Ken Pabich referenced the success of the emergency dispatcher recruitment campaign, and suggested targeting Northeast Wisconsin Technical College attendees, trade publications, and trying to stretch their advertising reach further away.
Supervisor Todd Thayse questioned the long term success of a sign on bonus, in regards to long term retention and turn over of those employees after their bonus is received. Thayse retired in 2022 as the vice president and general manager of Fincantieri Bay Shipbuilding in Sturgeon Bay.
Sheriff Sternard said she saw success in the dispatch recruitment program with spreading out the bonus over several months.
