A detective with the Webster County Sheriff’s Office who has been on administrative leave since the middle of November will receive an annual salary increase due to the requirements of a collective bargaining agreement.

In mid-November, Detective Tom Steck was placed on administrative leave pending an investigation into allegations of criminal activity and misconduct. Webster County Attorney Darren Driscoll asked the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation to conduct the investigation as a neutral party. The Messenger previously reported that Driscoll was notified by the Fort Dodge Police Department on Oct. 19, 2022, about some allegations against Steck. That same day, Driscoll’s office contacted the DCI to start an investigation.

Though the investigation is ongoing and Steck remains on administrative leave, the subject of the approval for the annual “step” increase in his salary was on the agenda for Tuesday’s Webster County Board of Supervisors meeting. The item was initially on the consent agenda, which is a series of routine action items that the board usually approves all at once, without discussion. A motion was made to remove Steck’s raise from the consent agenda and move it to the action items for discussion.

During the discussion, Driscoll explained that the salary step increase is part of the collective bargaining agreement the county has with the sheriff’s deputies union.

“I was consulted as to whether or not someone on paid administrative leave is entitled to a step increase,” he said. “…It did seem unusual for someone on leave to be getting a raise.”

The agenda item was originally set for the May 23 Board of Supervisors meeting, but it was removed to allow Driscoll to refer the matter to the county’s insurance counsel to review the bargaining agreement. He noted it was an “odd situation.”

“Due to the way the collective bargaining agreement is drafted, we were advised by our counsel that you’d be violating the collective bargaining agreement if we were not to provide the step increase at this time, because he’s still an employee though he’s on administrative leave,” Driscoll said.

The board unanimously approved the step increase from $32.71 to $33.83 per hour, effective May 12.

Steck joined the Sheriff’s Office in May 2021. Prior to that, he had worked for the Fort Dodge Police Department for 12 years.