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| Sheriff Thomas Parnell McNamara, Jr. |
Spectacular
demotions, raises abound amid fandango's dust
Waco
– Word on the street has it that when the new Sheriff in town and
his Chief Deputy arrived at department headquarters to take over,
there was no furniture in their offices.
No
desks, no chairs, no filing cabinets. Nada. Zip. Zilch.
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| Chief Deputy Wm. Matt Cawthon |
That
didn't stop Sheriff Thomas Parnell McNamara, Jr., and Chief Deputy
William M. Cawthon, a well-seasoned Deputy U.S. Marshal-in-Charge
and a retired Texas Ranger, if there really is any such thing, from
making some moves – pronto – to put men and women they favor in
charge of a newly reorganized department.
That
includes elimination of 8 top administrator jobs, at least 16
promotions through either salary raises or reclassifications that pay
about $5,000 more per year in most cases, and 13 demotions from
positions of high responsibility by as much as three lower pay
grades.
In
four cases, the Sheriff reclassified vacant positions by lowering the
salaries to entry level, or, in one case, making a modest increase in
pay, and applying the difference to slots he raised in pay.
It
appears Mssrs. McNamara and Cawthon were aiming to clean house.
The
deal is this.
They
did it all within the overall budget laid out for this fiscal year.
Predictably,
that drew kudos from the folks who hold the purse strings – the
McLennan County Commissioners Court.
The
new look and the new way is a leaner, better-paid department that
includes a long absent narcotics division, new investigators promoted
from the ranks, and dedicated to solving old cases - cold cases - a
new line-up at the jail, and in the crucial area of courthouse
security.
Here
are some of the highlights gleaned from the Court's records, which
approved the changes with only one dissenting vote.
The
lone Democrat on the Court, Commissioner Lester Gibson, protested
that the moves are contrary to County personnel policies because in
many cases salaries exceeded the budgeted amount for the individual
positions, and they were not advertised for outside applicants.
Interim
County Judge Scott Felton and the other three commissioners made no
objection. They all made statements that said it's okay to do what
you have to do when you get yourself elected to run a constitutional
office with an annual multi-million-dollar budget – as long as you
keep coloring within the lines of the overall spending plan.
In
all but a very, very few cases - meaning the top slots of Sheriff and
Chief Deputy - new hires were made from within the department.
Job
one still pays the same – at an annual salary of $95,338.74.
Sheriff McNamara said many times on the campaign trail that he does
not intend to accept a $12,000 annual corporate stipend to supervise
and inspect lock-ups maintained and operated by CEC, Inc., the
private New Jersey corporation that built and continues to operate
the Jack Harwell Detention Center at a deficit.
“I
don't think it's right to profit from someone else's demise,” he
said – on more than one occasion. Looks like he means it.
Chief
Deputy Cawthon, who quit a job very similar to the one held by
legendary Ranger Frank Hamer after he retired and went to work for
TDC chasing down such notorious ex-convicts as Clyde Barrow, will be
paid $85,770 per year – an increase of $5,887.16 over the
$79,882.84 previously paid his predecessor, Randy Plemons.
Deputy
Plemons is moving on to Denton County after losing a bitter primary
race to Sheriff McNamara by a wide margin.
There
are more spectacular promotions, to be sure.
Former
Corporal Morris R. Colyer received a promotion to Captain Sheriff,
and a rise in salary from $48,832.92 to $66,079.94 for an increase of
$17,249.02. Lt. Christopher R. Eubanks received a more modest raise
to $60,353.22 from his former salary of $58,916.10.
Field
Deputy Stephen Smith will serve Sheriff McNamara as a Captain at an
annual salary of $66,019.94, up $14,323.39 from $51,756.55 per annum.
Investigator Shawn Lippe is now a Captain at the annual salary of
$66,097.94 – up $18.414.90 from $47,665.04.
Investigator
Benjamin Toombs, who has been working for $47,665.05 per year, hired
in as the chief of Courthouse Security at $56,649.37 annual salary.
He
replaced Sgt. William E. Gorham, whose salary Sheriff McNamara cut
three pay grades from $56,649.37 to $43,178.76.
Similarly,
Deputy Kathleen Daniel experienced a cut in pay as a courthouse
security officer from $43,178.99 to $36,041.52.
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