MILWAUKEE – County Supervisor Russell Antonio Goodwin, Sr. has introduced a resolution that aims to address an Officer shortage in County correctional facilities by significantly increasing pay across all Officer positions.
“Working in our correctional facilities is hard, demanding work and our Officers desperately need raises,” said Supervisor Goodwin. “This resolution will help us compete with neighboring counties for the best talent, boost morale for existing employees, and reduce our reliance on expensive overtime.”
Under Supervisor Goodwin’s proposal, all Correctional Officer/Youth Correctional Officer positions would receive 43 percent pay increases, bringing the lowest step to $29.43 and the highest step to $33.81.
Correctional Officer Sergeant positions would receive 35 percent increases, bringing the lowest step to $32.33 and the highest step to $37.24. Correctional Officer Lieutenant positions would receive 32 percent increases, bringing the lowest step to $34.40 and the highest step to $42.64.
Officers have proven difficult to hire and retain at the Milwaukee County Jail, House of Correction, and Vel R. Phillips Youth and Family Justice Center due to a competitive job market. In nearby Racine County, Officers now have a starting wage of $28.96 per hour and a maximum wage of $33.42 per hour.
As of August 31, the Milwaukee County Jail had only 175 Officer positions filled of the 261 authorized in the budget.
Milwaukee County has provided raises to Officers in each of the last two years. In July 2019, Supervisors approved a 4.5 percent raise for all Officer pay steps. In April 2020, another 2.25 percent raise for all Officer pay steps was approved, bringing the top of the pay grade to $23.41 per hour.
