LETTER TO THE EDITOR, Carolyn Huddleston, Liberal
One of the rules of the Kansas Department Of Corrections grant that Cimarron Basin Community Corrections has for Fiscal Year 2025 is that “Grantee must demonstrate salaries for all positions are consistent with similar, County-funded positions.”
Is Kayla Janko’s salary of $104,957 in line with that of others at the county in positions of comparable responsibility? And what about her supervision officers who are making $30.99 per hour (At 40 hours per week, that amounts to $64,459 in a year)?
The answers to these questions lie, I believe, in the Seward County Sheriff’s Department. Both supervision officers and sheriff’s deputies typically have completed a degree in Criminal Justice. The deputies, however, have also completed training at a police academy. Further, sheriff’s deputies are in more personal danger than probation officers. Because of their additional training and the fact that theirs is a more hazardous duty, in my opinion, the pay for the deputies should be higher than that of the supervision officers.
Within the Sheriff’s Department, there is the sheriff himself, then some salaried individuals, who are upper-level staff, and then the rank-and-file deputies. There also are jailers. These detention officers have on-the-job training. The only educational requirement for them is a high school diploma or GED. In my opinion, in an equitable world Kayla’s salary should be less than that of the Sheriff, probably similar to those of his high-ranking staff or a highly paid deputy. The supervision officers I would place below the deputies, but above the detention officers.
So what does the data say?
The sheriff himself has a salary of $84,003, and his highest ranking staff have an average salary of $65,267. The highest hourly wage for a deputy is $28.22, and the average wage for these deputies is $23.11. Among the detention officers, the highest hourly wage is $24.21, and their average wage is $19.39.
So back to our original questions: Is Kayla Janko’s salary of $104,957 consistent with that of individuals in county-funded jobs of similar responsibility? Responsibility, hmmm, let’s see: The sheriff, who makes $84,003, supervises 20 deputies, 25 detention officers plus another 10 staff at the sheriff’s department. He has responsibility not just for law enforcement and detention of prisoners, but also is a key leader in the event of a local disaster. On the other hand, Kayla supervises three intensive supervision officers. And she makes $20,000 more. What do you readers think?
How about her supervision officers, who are now earning $30.99 per hour, while the highest deputy hourly pay is $28.22, and the average pay for deputies, $23.11 per hour?
The Seward County Commission has to approve the salaries that Kayla sets for herself and her staff. Yes, she writes their salaries, and then tries to get her Advisory Board to approve them. If successful in that, the proposed salaries are submitted to the County Commission for final approval. It is KDOC money that supports CBCC, not Seward County tax levies, but they are tax dollars, and the Commission has a responsibility to oversee the proper spending of these public funds. Have they been doing that job?
