These men and women serve in the Patrol Division of the Madison County Sheriff’s Office. (CONTRIBUTED)

MADISON COUNTY – Madison County Commission approved a pay increase for sheriff deputies at its Sept. 23 meeting.

In passing the 2016 budget, the commission included 29.3-percent increase for new deputies who join the force. A beginning deputy’s salary will now be $35,360 per year. The sheriff’s department also has a new pay scale.

Since November 2012 when they took office, chairman Dale Strong and fellow commissioners have increased the pay for deputies by 35.9 percent.

“During my tenure as chairman, I have aggressively worked to increase pay for our sheriff’s deputies and to put more officers on patrol across Madison County.” Strong said. “Now we have a pay scale for these men and women comparative to the other sheriff departments throughout Alabama and without raising taxes on the people of Madison County.”

Making the increase possible were the use of savings from jail operations and other cost-cutting measures within the sheriff department’s budget, Strong said. The county’s fiscal year began Oct. 1 and will end Sept. 30, 2016.

Also to benefit the sheriff’s Office, the budget will fund two new deputy positions.

“This commission has worked directly with the entire 23rd Judicial Circuit, District Attorney, Circuit Court Clerk, Alternative Sentencing office and municipal courts to create these savings through reducing the jail population and a more proficient process, thus reducing operations cost in the Madison County Metro Jail,” Strong said.

The commission moved the salaries for the new positions to the enforcement and patrol divisions of the Madison County Sheriff’s Office.

“This is a balanced budget and that is what the citizens elected me to do. We will continue to do more with less and make important investments to bring new jobs, support our schools and improve the quality of life across our county and all six cities that call Madison County home,” Strong said.

Blake Dorning is sheriff of Madison County. For more information about the sheriff’s office, visit madisoncountysheriffal.org.