HomeMy WebLinkAboutHumanResourcesAgenda2026September25
107 North Kent Street, Winchester, VA 22601
County of Frederick
Michael J. Marciano
Director of Human Resources
(540) 665-5668
Fax: (540) 665-5669
Michael.Marciano@fcva.us
TO: Human Resources Committee and Board of Supervisors
FROM: Michael J. Marciano
DATE: September 18, 2026
SUBJECT: HR Committee Agenda
The HR Committee will meet in the First Floor Conference Room (Purple Room) at 107 North
Kent Street on Friday, September 25, 2026, at 8:45 a.m.
The agenda for the meeting is as follows:
1. Request for Specialty Assignment Incentive/Stipends – Presentation by Sheriff
Millholland and/or His Representative
2. Turnover Ratio Discussion
1080 Coverstone Drive
Winchester, Virginia 22602
Office (540) 662-6168
Fax (540) 504-6400
Sheriff Lenny Millholland Major Steve A. Hawkins
Justification for Specialty Assignment Incentive/Stipends
Purpose
I am requesting consideration of a standardized specialty assignment stipend program for deputies and civilian personnel who serve in
designated specialty assignments within the Frederick County Sheriff’s Office. These assignments require employees to assume
responsibilities beyond the normal scope of their primary positions and often require additional training, certifications, continuing
education, physical or technical readiness, and availability.
My goal is to strengthen our ability to recruit and retain qualified personnel for these assignments and ensure the Sheriff’s Office
maintains the specialized capabilities needed to respond effectively when those services are required.
Operational Need and Staffing
Specialty teams are essential to our ability to respond to critical incidents and provide specialized services to Frederick County
residents. They allow us to maintain important operational capabilities without creating separate full-time positions for each specialty
function. At the same time, several teams are currently staffed below the levels I believe are needed for effective coverage and
operational readiness.
Specialty Team Current # Desired # Shortfall
SWAT 12 18 6
Search and Rescue (SAR) 16 28 12
Dive 8 12 4
Drone (UAS) 5 10 5
Crisis Negotiation Team (CNT) 9 12 3
Honor Guard 5 12 7
Civil Disturbance 13 24 11
I also reviewed our current Special Operations roster to understand better how many employees support these assignments. When we
count every roster position, including employees assigned to more than one team, we have 113 total specialty-team assignments. After
removing duplicate names, 64 individual deputies fill those assignments. Twenty-seven (27) serve on two or more specialty teams,
further illustrating the extent of multiple-team reliance. This demonstrates how heavily some of our personnel are already relied upon
across multiple specialty functions.
Additional Responsibilities and Expectations
Employees who volunteer for specialty assignments accept responsibilities and commitments beyond their regular duties. Depending
on the assignment, these expectations may include:
• Completing specialized initial training and certification;
• Maintaining required certifications and continuing education;
• Attending recurring training throughout the year;
• Maintaining specialized equipment and operational proficiency;
• Meeting enhanced physical, technical, or operational readiness requirements;
• Responding during nights, weekends, holidays, and other non-traditional hours;
• Remaining available for emergency deployment or call-out; and
• Serving as subject-matter experts within the agency.
Examples of specialty assignments include Firearms Instructors, Tactical Team, Peer Support Team, Range Officers, Civil
Disturbance Team, Dive Team, Honor Guard, Drone (UAS) Team, Defensive Tactics Instructors, Field Training Officers, Crisis
Negotiation Team, Tactical Medics, Search and Rescue Personnel, Crime Prevention Specialists, and other Sheriff-approved specialty
assignments.
Recruitment, Retention, and Operational Readiness
I believe a specialty assignment stipend would meaningfully recognize employees who accept these additional responsibilities while
also helping us recruit and retain qualified personnel for critical specialty functions. When experienced employees leave a specialty
assignment, the Office loses not only the individual but also the time and resources invested in training, certification, equipment
familiarization, and operational experience.
A standardized incentive would help recognize advanced knowledge and professional expertise, encourage employees to remain active
in specialty assignments, reduce avoidable turnover and retraining costs, improve operational readiness, and support adequate
specialty-team staffing.
Here are brief examples to describe the recruiting and retention challenges facing Frederick County Sheriff’s Office specialty teams:
The Frederick County Sheriff’s Office K-9 Unit presents several unique recruiting and retention challenges:
• Major personal commitment: Becoming a K-9 handler is more than a normal specialty assignment. The handler assumes
responsibility for the dog 24 hours a day, including feeding, housing, exercise, grooming, veterinary needs, and maintaining
the dog’s training and readiness.
• Extensive initial and continuing training: Handlers must complete specialized training with their canine partner and then
participate in regular proficiency and certification training. This additional commitment can discourage otherwise qualified
employees from volunteering.
• Significant callout demands: K-9 teams may be called upon at any hour for narcotics detection, tracking, searches,
apprehensions, missing persons, and assistance to surrounding jurisdictions. These unpredictable callouts can interfere with
family and personal responsibilities.
• Limited pool of volunteers: Not every deputy has the home environment, family circumstances, interest, experience, or
ability to maintain an agency K-9 properly. This significantly reduces the number of potential candidates compared with
other specialty assignments.
• Recurrent vacancies: Promotions, transfers, retirements, resignations, or staffing shortages can result in experienced
handlers leaving the K-9 Unit. Because developing a new handler-and-dog team requires substantial time and training,
vacancies cannot always be filled quickly.
• Primary staffing needs: When vacancies occur in patrol or other essential assignments, deputies serving as K-9 handlers
may face increased regular-duty responsibilities or reassignment, making it more difficult to maintain the specialty program.
• Burnout and work-life balance: Combining normal law-enforcement responsibilities with K-9 training, emergency callouts,
demonstrations, community events, and daily responsibility for the animal can eventually cause experienced handlers to leave
the specialty assignment.
Overall: Recruiting and retaining qualified K-9 handlers requires finding employees who are willing to make a long-term professional
and personal commitment. Losing an experienced handler creates more than a personnel vacancy—it can mean losing years of
specialized training, experience, and the established working relationship between a handler and canine partner.
• Tactical Team: Significant training requirements, physical standards, after-hours callouts, and increased risk can make
recruiting difficult. Members may leave because of family obligations, workload, promotions, transfers, or burnout.
• Search and Rescue Team: Requires volunteers willing to train extensively and respond at unpredictable hours, sometimes in
difficult terrain and weather. Maintaining sufficiently trained personnel can be challenging because members must balance
specialty responsibilities with their regular assignments.
• Crime Prevention Specialist: Recruiting personnel with strong communication, teaching, public-speaking, and community-
relations skills can be difficult. Regular staffing shortages may also require qualified personnel to return to patrol or other
primary duties.
• Dive Team: Specialized certification, continuing training, physical demands, equipment requirements, and potentially
hazardous operations limit the number of employees willing or able to participate. Maintaining proficiency requires a
substantial time commitment.
• Drone Team: Requires specialized technical training, FAA requirements, continuing proficiency, and availability for
emergency and investigative callouts. Staffing needs may require transferring trained operators, promoting them, or pulling
them back to primary assignments.
• Crisis Negotiation Team: Recruiting employees with the appropriate temperament, communication skills, judgment, and
willingness to undergo extensive training can be challenging. Negotiators must remain available for lengthy and
unpredictable critical incidents while maintaining their regular duties.
• Honor Guard: Requires considerable personal commitment for practices, ceremonies, funerals, memorial services, parades,
and other events, frequently outside normal working hours. Recruiting and retaining members can be difficult because of the
emotional and time demands involved.
• Civil Disturbance Team: Members must maintain specialized training and be available for potentially lengthy deployments
involving demonstrations, major events, or civil unrest. Employees may be reluctant to volunteer because of the physical
demands, risk, and additional training requirements.
• Peer Support Team: Requires employees whom their coworkers trust, possess strong interpersonal skills, maintain
confidentiality, and are willing to assist personnel during difficult or traumatic circumstances. Emotional demands and
additional training can affect retention.
Overall challenge: The greatest difficulty with specialty teams is that participation is generally an additional responsibility beyond an
employee’s primary assignment. Training, certification, equipment proficiency, meetings, and emergency callouts compete with
normal staffing requirements and employees’ family and personal time. When recurrent vacancies occur in patrol, corrections, civil
process, or other essential functions, specialty-team members may have to leave or reduce their participation to meet the Sheriff’s
Office’s basic operational needs. This creates a continuing cycle of recruiting, training, and replacing experienced specialty personnel,
with substantial time and financial costs to the agency.
Market and Compensation Context
I reviewed available information regarding how other Virginia jurisdictions address specialty assignment compensation. I did not
identify a single statewide standard; rather, agencies appear to use different approaches. For example, my initial review identified the
City of Portsmouth as providing an annual SWAT allowance and Fairfax County as using an hourly operational hazard stipend for
certain specialty activities, including SWAT, Civil Disturbance, and Underwater Search and Recovery.
The County’s 2022 Classification and Compensation Study also supports consideration of this issue. The study includes an appendix
addressing law-enforcement incentives, recognizes compensation as a tool to attract, reward, and retain qualified employees, and
acknowledges that total compensation may include more than base salary.
The additional examples reinforce the observation that Virginia jurisdictions use different compensation models for specialty duties.
They also show that specialty compensation may be structured as an annual stipend, an hourly premium while performing the
assignment, or additional overtime/compensation tied to the duty.
Virginia Jurisdiction Specialty Assignment Examples Compensation Approach
Loudoun County Sheriff’s Office Training Officer; Canine Handler;
Adult Detention Center assignment
$4.00/hour while serving as
Training Officer; canine handler
receives 1 hour of overtime per day;
$3,000 annual ADC stipend
Fairfax County Police Department
SWAT/DSWAT; Civil Disturbance;
Underwater Search & Rescue;
EOD; Canine; Motors; Tactical
Flight
$3.00/hour operational hazard
stipend when actively
assigned/performing qualifying
duties
Arlington County Police Department Patrol Field Training Officer; Civil
Disturbance Unit; SWAT
Official County compensation
materials document specialty
premiums; published rates include
$3.00/hour FTO, $0.75/hour Civil
Disturbance, and $1.00/hour SWAT
Portsmouth Sheriff’s Office SWAT $900
Fauquier County Sheriff’s Office K-9 $456.25 a month for a maintenance
fee.
Gloucester County Sheriff’s Office SWAT $100 monthly stipend
Mecklenburg County Sheriff’s Office Each Specialty Team $1,000 for the first team and $250
for additional teams
Recommended Stipend Structure
Based on the additional responsibilities associated with these assignments, the staffing needs identified above, and the compensation
practices used by other Virginia jurisdictions, I recommend an annual stipend of $1,500 for an employee’s first qualifying specialty
assignment and an additional $500 for each additional qualifying specialty assignment.
Number of Qualifying Specialty Assignments Recommended Annual Stipend
1 $1,500
2 $2,000
3 $2,500
4 $3,000
Each additional assignment +$500
This approach recognizes both participation in a qualifying specialty assignment and the greater commitment assumed by employees
who serve on multiple teams.
Fiscal Impact
Using the current Special Operations roster figures submitted with this request, the proposed structure permits an initial estimate. If all
113 listed specialty-team assignments qualify and the 64 individual deputies receive $1,500 for their first assignment, the remaining
46 assignments would receive the additional $500 stipend.
Calculation Quantity Estimated Annual Cost
First qualifying assignment $1,500 × 64 deputies $96,000
Additional qualifying assignments $500 × 46 assignments $23,000
Estimated current-roster total 113 assignments / 64 deputies $119,000
This $119,000 estimate applies only to 113 assignments and 64 individual deputies identified in the current Special Operations roster
and assumes that every listed assignment qualifies under the proposed program. The ultimate cost could change if additional specialty
assignments outside that roster are included, if some assignments are excluded, or if the County establishes a maximum stipend per
employee.
Conclusion
I am asking the County to address this issue proactively before staffing shortages affect our ability to maintain specialty teams that
may be needed without notice to respond to critical incidents. These assignments require significant training, expertise, availability,
and personal commitment, and many of our employees are already supporting more than one specialty function.
I believe the proposed stipend structure reasonably recognizes that commitment while strengthening recruitment, retention, and
operational readiness. Current staffing levels, the concentration of 113 specialty assignments among 64 individual deputies, the
County’s prior compensation study, and the compensation approaches used by other Virginia jurisdictions support considering this
request. I recommend establishing the specialty assignment stipend program at $1,500 for the first qualifying assignment and $500 for
each additional qualifying assignment, subject to finalizing the administrative parameters and fiscal impact.
County Headcount Report
HR Committee Meeting
September 2026
Page 1 of 2
Full-Time Headcount *2026 figures omit NRADC data
2025 FULL-TIME HEADCOUNT 2026 FULL-TIME HEADCOUNT
Month
FT Hires +
Changes to FT
FT Terms +
Changes to PT
Month-End
Headcount Gain/ Loss Month
FT Hires +
Changes to FT
FT Terms +
Changes to PT
Month-End
Headcount Gain/ Loss
YE 2024 YE 2025
Jan 11 7 584 4 Jan 9 8 615 1
Feb 8 6 586 2 Feb 1 7 609 -6
Mar 4 2 588 2 Mar 3 3 609 0
Q1 23 15 8 Q1 13 18 -5
Apr 2 7 583 -5 Apr 2 5 606 -3
May 17 6 594 11 May 5 5 606 0
Jun 2 1 595 1 Jun 18 4 620 14
Q2 21 14 7 Q2 25 14 11
Jul 13 10 598 3 Jul 0 0 620 0
Aug 2 10 590 -8 Aug 0 0 620 0
Sep*2 2 590 0 Sep 0 0 620 0
Q3 17 22 -5 Q3 0 0 0
Oct 4 2 592 2 Oct 0 0 620 0
Nov 27 3 616 24 Nov 0 0 620 0
Dec 4 6 614 -2 Dec 0 0 620 0
Q4 35 11 24 Q4 0 0 0
96 62 34 38 32 6
YE 2025 614 YTD 2026 620
* Fire & Rescue new recruits Increase %-24.4%Increase %-1.0%
Full-Time Hiring Trends III.Part-Time Hires & Terms
2025 PART TIME 2026 PART TIME
Month PT Hires PT Terms Month PT Hires PT Terms
Jan 10 4 Jan 15 2
Feb 19 2 Feb 13 0
Mar 11 2 Mar 17 11
Apr 24 10 Apr 0 3
May 18 0 May 1 29
Jun 22 8 June 0 6
Jul 9 1 Jul 0 0
Aug 9 1 Aug 0 0
Sep 7 0 Sep 0 0
Oct 14 2 Oct 0 0
Nov 13 2 Nov 0 0
Dec 10 0 Dec 0 0
Total 166 32 Total YTD 46 51
** Fire & Rescue new recruits
9
0
3
2
5
18
0
2
4
6
8
10
12
14
16
18
20
Jan Feb Mar Apr May June
2026 Full-Time Hires (Q1-Q2)TOTAL YTD: 37
HR Committee Report
County Headcount Report
HR Committee Meeting
September 2026
Page 2 of 2
Full-Time Turnover IV.Separation Reasons***
2025 (Q1-Q4)2026 (Q1-Q2)
Month
Terms Total
(includes status
changes)
Tunover Rate
(Start of Year -
Terms)
Quarterly
Turnover Rate
Annual
Turnover Rate FT Reason Count FT Reason Count
YE 2025 Personal Reasons 9 Personal Reasons 8
Jan 7 1.2%Retirement 7 Retirement 4
Feb 6 1.0%Pay 11 Pay 7
Mar 2 0.3%2.6%Different Opportunity 5 Different Opportunity 4
Apr 7 1.2%Performance 3 Performance 3
May 6 1.0%Dissatisfied with Job 3 Dissatisfied with Job 0
Jun 1 0.2%2.4%Career Growth 0 Career Growth 0
Jul 10 1.7%Not Specified 12 Not Specified 0
Aug 10 1.7%All Other 12 All Other 6
Sep 2 0.3%3.8%Total 62 Total 32
Oct 2 0.3%
Nov 3 0.5%
Dec 6 1.0%1.9%10.7%
62
Month
Terms Total
(includes status
changes)
Tunover Rate
(Start of Year -
Terms)
Quarterly
Turnover Rate
Annual
Turnover Rate
YE 2025
Jan 8 1.3%
Feb 7 1.1%
Mar 3 0.5%2.9% 2.9%
Apr 5 0.8%
May 5 0.8%
Jun 4 0.7%2.3%5.2%
Jul 0 0.0%
Aug 0 0.0%
Sep 0 0.0%0.0%0.0%
Oct 0 0.0%
Nov 0 0.0%
Dec 0 0.0%0.0%0.0%
2026 YTD 32
Department # of FT Staff % of FT Terms
Number of
Terms
Sheriff 161 44% 14
Fire & Rescue 193 12% 4
Public Works 66 16% 5
All Other 201 28%9
2026 FT STRAIGHT TURNOVER
2025 FT STRAIGHT TURNOVER
*** As reported in exit interviews and/or their departments.
Sheriff
44%
Fire & Rescue
12%
Public Works
16%
All Other
28%
2026 Termination Trends by Department
Q1-Q2
Sheriff Fire & Rescue Public Works All Other
HR Committee Report
Department of Social Services Headcount Trends Report
HR Committee Meeting
September 2026
Page 1 of 2
I. Full-Time Headcount
2026 FULL-TIME HEADCOUNT 2025 FULL-TIME HEADCOUNT
Month Hires Total
Terms
Total
Month-End
Headcount Gain/ Loss Month Hires Total
Terms
Total
Month-End
Headcount Gain/ Loss
YE 2025 70 YE 2024 77
Jan 4 0 74 4 Jan 5 2 80 3
Feb 2 3 73 -1 Feb 1 3 78 -2
Mar 1 4 70 -3 Mar 1 3 76 -2
Apr 4 1 73 3 Apr 3 2 77 1
May 2 3 72 -1 May 2 1 78 1
Jun 5 6 71 -1 Jun 1 2 77 -1
Jul 0 0 71 0 Jul 5 9 73 -4
Aug 0 0 71 0 Aug 5 3 75 2
Sep 0 0 71 0 Sep 0 0 75 0
Oct 0 0 71 0 Oct 1 4 72 -3
Nov 0 0 71 0 Nov 4 2 74 2
Dec 0 0 71 0 Dec 0 4 70 -4
18 17 1 28 35 -7
YE 2025 70 YTD 2024 75
% Change 0.0% % Change -2.7%
Note:
DSS has 2 steady part-time employees; 1 position vacant as of 3/31/26
II. Full-Time Hiring Trends
5
1 1
3
2
1
5 5
0
1
4
0
0
1
2
3
4
5
6
Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec
2025 Full-Time Hires
(Q1 - Q4)
Total YTD 28
4
2
1
4
2
5
0
1
2
3
4
5
6
Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun
2026 Full-Time Hires
(Q1-Q2)Total YTD 18
HR Committee Report-DSS
Department of Social Services Headcount Trends Report
HR Committee Meeting
September 2026
Page 2 of 2
IV. Termination Trends
2025 Full-Time Turnover
2025 FT STRAIGHT TURNOVER
Month Terms Total
Tunover
Rate
(Start of Year
minus Terms)
Quarterly
Turnover
Annual
Turnover
Rate
YE 2024
Jan 2 2.6%
Feb 3 3.9%
Mar 3 3.9%10.4% 10.4%
Apr 2 2.6%
May 1 1.3%
Jun 2 2.6%6.5% 16.9%
Jul 9 11.7%
Aug 3 3.9%
Sep 0 0.0%15.6% 32.5%
Oct 4 5.2%
Nov 2 2.6%
Dec 4 5.2%13.0%45.5%
35
2026 FT STRAIGHT TURNOVER
Month Terms Total
Tunover
Rate
(Start of Year
minus Terms)
Quarterly
Turnover
Annual
Turnover
Rate
YE 2025
Jan 0 0.0%
Feb 3 4.3%
Mar 4 5.7%10.0% 10.0%
Apr 1 1.4%
May 3 4.3%
Jun 6 8.6%14.3% 24.3%
Jul 0 0.0%
Aug 0 0.0%
Sep 0 0.0%0.0%24.3%
Oct 0 0.0%
Nov 0 0.0%
Dec 0 0.0% 0.0% 24.3%
17
2026 2025
FT Reason Count FT Reason Count
Career Growth 2 Pay 6
Personal Reasons 4 Personal Reasons 6
Agency Term - Performance 1 Agency Term - Performance 5
Different Opportunity 7 Different Opportunity 5
Not Specified 3 Not Specified 11
Career Growth/Relocation 0 Career Growth/Relocation 2
Performance/ allowed to resign 0 Performance/ allowed to resign 0
Retirement 0 Retirement 0
Total 17 Total 35
Benefit Programs
43%
Family Services
40%
Administration
17%
2025 DSS
Turnover by Department
Benefit Programs Family Services Administration
Benefit Programs
35%
Family Services
59%
Administration
6%
2026 DSS
Turnover by Department
Benefit Programs Family Services Administration
HR Committee Report-DSS