The opening of the new Jackson County Jail will be delayed until next year in an effort to save money. The jail had been slated to open this summer, but that has been moved back to early 2010.
Postponing the opening of the jail until next year will mean a $663,400 savings in personnel costs. The county had planned to hire 57 additional staff for the new jail; now, only 20 new hires will be added on in 2009.
“Several meetings have been held to make sure we have a good plan to bring the jail on line as quickly as is feasible,” board of commissioners chairman Hunter Bicknell said at a meeting Monday night. “It is prudent to be very deliberate in this process and not go as fast as we might otherwise go if our budget conditions were somewhat different.”
He added that the sheriff will likely move into the administrative part of the jail before the inmates are brought in. The completion of the jail is slated for July and the administrative portion will likely be used then.
“At this point, the inmate housing part of the new facility will not open until 2010 and then possibly only a portion depending on funding availability and staffing,” Sheriff Stan Evans said Tuesday. “The administration part of the new facility could possibly open before the actual housing portion. We are still looking at this and will not know for sure until further study as our overall operation is entwined together and sometimes what affects one affects the other…I don’t know about other county operations but we are taking these precautions so that more drastic measures down the road may be prevented…We are committed to saving as much as possible and doing more than our part to help the county through the financial crisis and I expect the county government as a whole to make the same commitment to cutting expenses for the sake of the Jackson County taxpayer.”
The 20 new employees will be trained and prepare the opening of the jail. They will also train other new hires.
New Jackson jail opening delayed
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#1
concerned citizen
on
02/04/09 at 05:17 PM
[Reply]
If we can save $663,400 by not hiring 37 new employees for the jail that is not going to open. Why should we hire the other 20 employees if the jail is not going to open until 2010. The salary for the 20 employees would be about $358,595. I would rather see the county save $1,021,995.
#1.1
CITIZEN WHO CARES
on
02/05/09 at 12:11 AM
[Reply]
I understand your concern with saving money in these troublesome times. However, it is imperative that our Law Enforcement Officers be trained to the best of their ability in the area of jail management and that takes time. The Jackson County Sheriff's Department is going to a different type of jail management called Direct Supervision. This type of management is well thought of and is highly accepted through the Law Enforcement Community. It is a much more "positive" management of inmates who still have rights that must be protected. I for one would rather spend the money to properly hire and train deputies, who would then be able to train additional deputies, than see the county sued for an avoidable mistake or decision.
#1.1.1
Questions
on
02/08/09 at 08:07 PM
[Reply]
You seem to know the buzz words for the training in the new jail, perhaps you are a jail supervisor. If you are not going into the new jail until 2010 how are you going to train the new hires in your direct supervision? Why don't you train the deputies in the jail that are working there now before doing any new hires? It seems to be a waste of people to bring on new people at this point.
#1.1.1.1
Anonymous
on
02/27/09 at 01:28 AM
[Reply]
Close...I am a Deputy Sheriff but not with Jackson County. I work in an adjoining county that currently uses the Direct Supervision method. It is not my decision to make in how Sheriff Evans wishes to staff his department.
#1.1.2
anonymous
on
02/20/09 at 12:55 PM
[Reply]
Even worse than all of this, are any of you aware of the new fire training center and Jackson County Sgeriff's Office opening up in a couple of months? A friend of mine is in the furniture business and he was told that thye have chosen to go with extremely high priced furniture for these facilities. They were offered substitutions at a much lower cost but would not even hear their options. They are paying over $700/ a piece for training tables. Then the county has the audacity to complain about needing money.
#2
jxsn citizen
on
02/05/09 at 03:06 PM
[Reply]
we all should take a look at the rejects stan has hired recently. If it would stop hiring friends of his who are not qualified for their positions, we could save money.