The Mathews County Board of Supervisors unanimously approved the hiring of two additional deputies for the sheriff’s office at a total cost of $185,882 during the board’s Jan. 18 meeting.
The motion to approve the two positions was made by supervisor Dave Jones after newly-elected Sheriff April Edwards laid out the reasons the two positions were necessary.
Edwards said there’s an urgent need for funding the two positions, but that “even two is not good enough.” She said the office has 12 full-time sworn positions when it’s fully staffed, along with two part-timers, one of whom is seasonal.
The full-time positions currently consist of the sheriff, major, two sergeants (one SRO and one investigator), and a corporal, along with four deputies who work 12-hour shifts. She said she has one vacancy, one deputy out on workman’s compensation, and one new deputy attending the academy.
“That’s nine people to serve 24 hours a day, seven days a week,” said Edwards. “With two deputies out this week,...