Overworked and underpaid. That's how Jail Administrator Becky Caffey describes Brown County jailers.

In the proposed Brown County Sheriff's Office 2013 budget , the sheriff is asking for serious consideration to increase the base salaries of jailers.

"It's kind of like a training ground right now. We need to keep everybody here that we can so we can have the experience, and have the raise to be able to support our families," Sgt. Joel Florence said.

The Brown County Jail houses up to 196 inmates. It is the largest division of the sheriff's department.

To keep quality jailers in Brown County, Lt. Les Karnes -- who works in the jail -- said competitive pay is a must.

"We constantly have people that are going to other counties for work, and it's not a job that's made for anybody," Karnes said.

Over the past six years, the Brown County Jail has had a turnover of 126 jailers, or about 16 jailers per year.

This accounts for 75 percent of the sheriff's department turnover.