FARMINGTON – Franklin County commissioners voted Tuesday to recommend a revised Department of Corrections budget and a Sheriff’s Department spending plan.
Jail Administrators Carl Stinchfield and Sandra Collins presented the budget committee and commissioners with a department budget request of $1,016,549. Included was the purchase of a new refrigerator and freezer for $6,120 and hiring two additional corrections officers and an operations manager.
Citing an increase in jail population and an inability of existing supervisors to adequately manage other officers, corrections administrators requested the operations manager position at an annual salary of $35,000. Collins said corrections officers’ most common complaint is an inconsistency in management practices of the four supervising officers.
Supervisors were hired several years ago from a pool of senior officers when the state required their presence on every shift. The department managed to fulfill the requirement without hiring additional personnel by having the supervisors also act in their previous capacities, she explained.
Currently, three officers, including a supervising officer, cover three regular posts during a shift – control room, intake processing and inmate cells. This leaves little time for supervisors to supervise, she said. Additionally, the administrators were frustrated by an inability to adequately train supervisors which, they claim, would lead to more consistent management.
Their solution is hiring two more officers to act as supervisors and an operations officer. The operations manager would also supervise one of four daily shifts. A fourth supervisor was not deemed necessary because there is a period of relative quiet at night when three officers, including one supervisor, suffice.
After much discussion, Deputy Stephen Charles, serving on the budget committee, asked why the department could not simply hire three new corrections officers and allow the supervisors to supervise. Committee member Russell Black echoed his suggestion moments later.
After much clicking of calculators, the commissioners agreed and approved the department’s request, less the $35,000 salary for the operations manager and with the addition of $28,000 for an additional corrections officer. The revised budget reflects the addition of a total of three corrections officers, with personnel costs revised down from $811,830 to $804,830.
The Sheriff’s Department budget of $901,384 was accepted for recommendation by the commissioners as submitted, though not without discussion.
Budget committee members and commissioners had concerns about possible hidden costs of an additional police dog proposed for county law enforcement. The current year’s budget for one dog is $1,100, the request for 2005 showed an additional $500 for one.
Committee members worried that additional training and personnel costs might exceed the $1,600 asking price.
Sheriff Dennis Pike assured them expenses for the dog and handler would be at a minimum, reminding them that initial training will be paid through a private donation. Charles spoke about the effectiveness of police dogs in detecting drugs that officers cannot.
Commissioner Gary McGrane also gave committee members his assurances that he was satisfied with officers’ initial presentation for the unit, and in the end, commissioners approved the budget recommendation as requested.
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