Charleston Co. approves CCSO ‘Competitive Pay Plan’

CHARLESTON COUNTY, S.C. (WCBD) – Millions of dollars were approved for the Charleston County Sheriff’s Office (CCSO) in December, but before CCSO saw any of that money, leaders had to figure out where that money would come from.

Charleston County Council held their County Finance Committee Meeting to review a number of agenda items.

One of the most significant items on Thursday’s agenda was council discussing the allocation of $3.8 million to CCSO.

“As requested by the sheriff,” Councilman Joe Boykin said, “in support of the Competitive Pay Plan to be used to cover any deficits in the event sheriff spends the entire allocation of her FY 2023 budget.”

Sheriff Kristin Graziano asked for the nearly $4 million in December to raise wages and make the agency more competitive in an attempt to attract more deputies and detention center staff.

The sheriff’s request was approved by council, however three months later, the funds still had not been allocated to the sheriff’s office.

Despite the delay, Graziano said last week she remains confident council will give CCSO the money after she was reassured by council that the funds are there.

On Thursday, the council voted to determine where the $3.8 million would come from.

Boykin strongly supported CCSO’s Competitive Pay Plan, and talked about Thursday’s vote following the meeting.

“The sheriff was always going to get the funding she needed because we do support law enforcement,” he said. “I’m a retired law enforcement officer myself, so I totally understand the issues she’s going through right now. All we did is we were just deciding how we were going to allocate the money out of our own funds. So, this was never about her not getting support she needed. This was only about where the County would get those funds and how we would allocate them to her.”

With council approving Thursday’s vote, $3.8 million has now been allocated to CCSO.