Sonoma County Deputy Sheriff Joseph Ricks supplemented his base salary of $115,000 with a prodigious $240,000 in overtime pay in 2022. Throw in the pension and medical benefits he received from the county, as well as a few other smaller forms of compensation, and Ricks made close to $465,000 in his public job that year. “People see those numbers and their eyes pop out — ‘oh my gosh, a deputy made $400,000,’” said Eddie Engram, who replaced Essick as sheriff-coroner this year. “That deputy probably worked close to 4,000 hours that year.”

For reference, the average pay for an Army Sergeant in combat is $56,879 a year plus $2,700 combat pay or a total of $59,579 per year. The sheriff deputy is obviously overworked and we could help by asking that Sonoma County Supervisors use the $240,000 in overtime pay Deputy Joseph Ricks received to hire two additional deputies. The previous sheriff’s deputy in that area had similar compensation so this isn’t an issue that just became public. There may be a history of deputies being abused in Sonoma County. How many other public servants are being forced to work inhumane hours which may cause stress and force them to retire early on disability?

JOIN THE NON-VIOLENT MARCH TO PREVENT ABUSE OF OUR PUBLIC SERVANTS IN FEBRUARY 2024!!