GREENVILLE COUNTY, S.C. (FOX Carolina) - It’s a tense time right now between Greenville County Council and the Sheriff’s Office following a heated meeting this week over salaries.

Sheriff Hobart Lewis is requesting a $12,000 raise for all employees. He says the 24% increase is not a salary hike, but rather a salary adjustment to dissuade deputies from leaving the sheriff’s office for higher-paying jobs at smaller municipalities.

“It is a salary war when you talk about law enforcement,” Lewis said.

Lewis said he originally intended the 24% increase to be distributed over a two-year period beginning last year, but that didn’t happen.

“We are in a crisis today, and [county councilors] don’t seem to understand that,” he said.

Lewis says the county ranks about 31st in salary among simila

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