LAWTON – Under a new policy, Comanche County Detention Center employees who take on the duties of a higher-ranking staffer due to a vacancy or absence would see a 5% pay increase.
With little discussion, the Comanche County Facilities Authority voted 3-0 March 4 to approve a “working out of class” pay increase for employees at the county jail. The authority is made up of Comanche County Commissioners Johnny Owens, John O’Brien and Josh Powers.
Former Jail Administrator William Hobbs proposed the policy before his March 1 retirement.
“When the need for working out (of) class is determined to be necessary by the Comanche County Facility Authority or their designee, such working-out-ofclass assignments will be assigned to qualified employees from within the Comanche County Detention Center,” Hobbs wrote in a Feb. 27 memo to the commission. “However, the Comanche County Facility Authority or their designee maintains the right to deviate from these parameters when needed for a justifiable management reason and/or for the good of the Comanche County Facility Authority.”
Powers said the county did not previously have a policy for jail employees who step up to perform tasks above their pay grade.
“It was suggested to do it for the interim jail administrator, but I did not believe that was fair and that if we did that, it should be applied across the board for employees having to work out of rank,” he said in an email to a Southwest Ledger reporter. “Examples would be a sergeant having to cover the role of a Lt. (lieutenant) because they are on vacation, or an empty slot opens up and a promotion isn’t made immediately.”