Grayson Co. Sheriff’s Office applying for more than $54,000 in grants & raising pay

SHERMAN, Texas (KXII) - The Grayson County Sheriff’s office asked permission Tuesday from the county commissioners to apply for grants.

“If you could help us with this, we would certainly appreciate your support,” said Tom Watt to commissioners on Tuesday.

And they got the green light.

In total, they’ll equal more than 54,000 dollars.

Fourteen thousand dollars would come through TCOG and go toward purchasing stop sticks.

“As it stands right now, I have just a few units that are equipped with these,” said Captain Martin Hall with the Grayson County Sheriff’s Office. “If one of those units isn’t on duty or not in the right place at the right time, They don’t have the ability or equipment to assist.”

The other grant would go to 31 new sets of rifle-resistant body armor.

“In today’s climate, you know, with a lot of the fatalities with law enforcement and stuff like that, it’s just a need more than anything,” said Hall.

That’s not all commissioners voted to approve.

Night shift employees at the jail will get a pay raise as part of an effort to curb a worker shortage there.

There are 11 openings there right now.

“Our detention officers are working two shifts a month, mandatory overtime, to cover the shortage in personnel that we have,” said the Grayson County Sheriff’s Office Chief Deputy Tony Bennie. “The wear and tear is starting to get to our people. They are tired.”

The pay will go up one dollar an hour.

“At least it’s a start,” said Bennie. “It’s a step in the right direction.”

They say the raise starts Friday.

If the grants are approved, the sheriff’s office could start spending them in October of this year.

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