OGDEN — A group of would-be deputies with the Weber County Sheriff’s Office are voicing concerns about problems in the department that they say are negatively impacting their ability to serve the community.

The group — identifying itself as “Concerned Weber County Deputies” — sent a letter Thursday morning to the Standard-Examiner and other local media outlets citing “critical” staff shortages and workers’ compensation issues.

The letter targeted the Weber County Commission for the deficit in those areas.

“The understaffing problem is a direct result of low salaries at the sheriff’s office,” the letter said. “People have been forced out of the Weber County Sheriff’s Office and into other police agencies with higher salaries to pay their bills and feed their families.”

Among the items in the letter is a claim that patrol deputies are required to provide law enforcement services at or below minimum staffing levels “frequently,” which the letter states has “caused unsafe environments for deputies, times of increased response to priority calls and less proactive work by deputies that reduce crime.”

Weber County Sheriff Ryan Arbon, who was notified of the letter Thursday, largely agrees with the deputies’ assessment of the situation.

“We’ve been dealing with this issue for four years and we’re still way behind,” Arbon told the Standard-Examiner, adding, “I absolutely support and stand with our deputies. Public safety is our highest priority and we need adequate and adequate staffing and resources to do our job. I hope the commissioners’ actions will support this.”

Arbon noted that other agencies not only pay more, but also give officers more opportunities to move up the pay scale and “break through.” He added that Ogden officers start at “about $6,000” more annually than their counterparts in the sheriff’s office, and that starting pay at the Utah Highway Patrol is “8-9 dollars more per hour.”

At the county level, some measures were taken to improve the situation. Weber County Commissioner Sharon Bolos said in a statement provided to the Standard-Examiner: “The sheriff and his superiors requested a $10,000 retention payment for employees that they believed would fix the retention issue, and the commission is following that recommendation.” .

The commission also initiated a salary study at the county level. However, the study won’t be completed until 2025, which could push additional pay raises into 2026, according to the letter.

Weber County Public Relations Manager Jessika Clark provided an additional statement that dismissed the notion that county commissioners denied the deputies a raise.

“Commissioners want to ensure the safety of our deputies while serving and protecting the public. It is important to understand that there is a retention problem not just with the Weber County Sheriff’s Office, but in all county agencies and throughout the state. There were no refusals from the commission to raise the salary at the Sheriff’s Office. An employee working in the sheriff’s enforcement division in 2020 makes an average of 50.33 percent more in 2024. A corrections employee earns 52.53 percent more,” the statement said.

While Arbon agrees there are problems at other law enforcement agencies, he contends his office is still behind.

“There is a minimum amount of staff to do the job right. For us, we’re at those lows, but you can’t sustain them for long periods of time,” Arbon said. “Morale is good here. They love their leaders and administration, but it’s really about the money. I was consistently behind everyone else by a substantial amount.”