FARMINGTON — Intense competition for law enforcement personnel has prompted the Davis County Sheriff’s Office to leave some positions unfilled and plow that available funding into higher pay rates for deputies.

The 2023 tentative county budget, approved by commissioners on Tuesday, includes $4-per-hour increases for sheriff’s employees up to the maximum rates per grade, “funded by relinquishing vacant positions.”

Sheriff Kelly Sparks said Wednesday that the sheriff’s office has 60 vacancies, for both sworn law enforcement officers and non-sworn personnel. To fund the proposed pay increases, the office will hold back 20 of those openings.

In the current budget year, Sparks said, “We weren’t even able to get close” to filling the 60 openings. “We came to the realization that just to put more money in the budget” without raising pay rates would not improve the effort to attract and retain more people, he said.

“It’s not going to be to get us to be the No. 1 agency, by any means,” he said. “We’re just looking at enough to keep us competitive.”

The 20 positions that won’t be filled next year, the sheriff said, “aren’t 20 positions that aren’t needed. The reality is, we can’t get there.” He said the patrol and corrections staffs, currently totaling 198 deputies, are working overtime to get the required jobs done, “which obviously puts a strain on everybody.”

In the past several years, all law enforcement agencies have been struggling to retain staff and attract new officers. Officers jumping to agencies offering greater compensation is common. Sparks said all agencies, large and small, are facing similar issues. “It’s just a much more fluid labor market and people are much more willing to leave and negotiate for better pay,” he said.

Fewer people are applying for police jobs as well, Sparks said. It’s a function of changing economic conditions overall, and he acknowledged there’s been some impact from nationwide pressures such as the “Defund the Police” movement and controversies including the murder of George Floyd by a police officer in Minnesota.

“We need good people in this profession, not just in law enforcement but in our communities,” he said. “It’s a great profession. It’s certainly not work that everybody is cut out for, but it is a very rewarding career and you can make a difference in the community.”

According to the tentative county budget, total sheriff’s office payroll will increase 12.4% in 2023, to $16.1 million, up from 2022’s projected total, $13.4 million.

Sparks said officials are trying to avoid increasing the burden on taxpayers while doing what is needed in maintaining public safety. “We need to be very careful how we do this,” he said.

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