BANKS COUNTY, Ga. — Deputies and detention officers in Banks County will begin receiving hazard pay for their work during the coronavirus pandemic, the Banks County Sheriff's Office said Wednesday.
In a Facebook post, Sheriff Carlton Speed wrote that the Banks County commissioners had voted to provide funds for a hazard pay stipend during the COVID-19 state of emergency. It will apply to patrol deputies and detention officers who hold the rank of sergeant or lower.
"To the very few naysayers that proclaim public safety signed up for it, a global pandemic was never mentioned during their job interview. Nowhere in our agency's job description does it mention the possibility of taking a deadly virus back into their home, let alone, exposing their loved ones. YOUR public safety, the people that will help YOU or YOUR loved one during time of need will be exposing not just themselves, but their own family to this virus. For these few, quarantine is not an option," the sheriff wrote. "Yes, they could quit and some throughout the public safety field in this nation have said enough is enough. Know this, not a Banks County Deputy nor Detention Officer has uttered a word of quitting!"
He added that on the other side of things, for anyone who considers the hazard pay not enough, "This is not about the amount of money. This is about respect and gratitude. The commissioners have looked at the finances and made a bold public statement that YOUR public safety officials in this county matter!"
"Our women and men serving at the front line are the finest, most professional, and sharpest in the business. These few in uniform are standing ready as Georgia braces for our bout with this virus," he wrote. "This may possibly be their time in history. They will prove themselves to be the true meaning of the word 'public servants.'"
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