Editor, Times-Union:

I was intrigued recently by the Letter to the Editor discussing Sheriff Dukes' salary as he "follows state statute" rather than having a simple contract with the County Council at an agreed-upon salary. Sheriff Dukes' salary for 2021 was $162,580.

I looked up the 2021 salaries of sheriffs in the surrounding counties. This is what I found:

Whitley County     $117,836

Wabash County     $98,144

Marshall County    $91,125

Elkhart County       $151,059 (probably "follows state statute" too)

Noble County         $115,729

Average of the above   $114,778

I also looked up the previous sheriff's (Rocky Goshert) salary for 2018, which was $124,295. So, Sheriff Dukes' current salary is nearly $40,000 more than his predecessor and nearly $50,000 higher than the average of the surrounding counties. I noted, too, that Governor Holcomb makes $111,688.

While I won't suggest who you should vote for, it seems that in this era of transparency, this is information that the voters of Kosciusko County should have.  

Phil Menzie

Pierceton, via email