Pay raise might have played role in Missouri sheriff’s department baby boom

Posted: Nov 11, 2019 / 12:21 PM EST

Updated: Nov 11, 2019 / 12:23 PM EST

JEFFERSON COUNTY, Missouri (KSDK) – There has been a baby boom at Missouri’s Jefferson County’s Sheriff’s Office.

This year, deputies and their wives have welcomed 17 babies: 10 boys and seven girls.

“We kept hearing week after week, month after month, of people having babies,” said Sgt. Matt Moore, who helped organize a photoshoot with the dads and their babies.

In this Nov. 4, 2019, photo fourteen Jefferson County Sheriffs Deputies pose for a photo with their babies at the Sandy Creek Covered Bridge in Jefferson County, Mo. They are from left, with their babies: Adam Lambrich with Lilliana; AJ Kausler with Lucy; Matt Moore with Luca; Scott Ehrhard with Hudson; Andy Sides with Carter; Greg Bohn with Evelyn; Dustin Isenhart with Kash; Nick Gamm with Gweneth; Colby McCreary with Sawyer; Cody Cawvey with Micah; Shawn Loness with Connor; Andrew Griffon with Kinsley; Kevin Karl with Kade; and Roger Waeckerle with Wyatt. (J.B. Forbes/St. Louis Post-Dispatch via AP)

Some of the baby boom may be due to coincidence, however, taxpayers may have also played a role as well.

Last year, voters approved a property tax increase. Some of the funds went toward police pay. The starting salary went from about $37,000 to about $50,000.

“Formula is extremely expensive. Diapers, you go through so much at this age. It’s a huge help,” says Deputy Cody Cawvey.