By Becky Killian, Staff Writer
Washington County currently doesn’t have a permanent jail commander because the salary is too low for the level of responsibility the position carries. Sheriff Brent Miller explained the year-long challenge he’s faced filling a vacancy caused by a retirement during the Monday, May 6, meeting of the Washington County Council.
Council President Mark Abbott said he asked Miller to appear before the Council to explain the staffing problems.
“This is something we need to take a good, hard look at,” Abbott said, urging Council members to take quick action.
The jail commander is the third in command at the jail and oversees 17 correction officers as well as the inmates, who currently total more than 150. The jail commander is responsible for the day-to-day operation of the jail, including training new hires, making sure the correction officers meet continuing education requirements, scheduling, record keeping, coordinating inmate transports, and hearing inmate grievances.
Miller said the jail’s correction officers are “a very young, inexperienced staff” that requires supervision to ensure they follow important procedures.
The jail has several inmates who suffer from medical conditions, addiction, and mental health issues, which Miller said makes running the jail more difficult.
Miller said at the current salary of $38,787, the jail commander makes only about $1,400 more than the correction officers he supervises.
A jail commander salary study Miller provided to the Council showed Floyd County with the highest salary of $92,616. The lowest salary was $34,008 in Crawford County. The average salary among the nine counties included in the study was $58,406.
The jail commander’s salary in Washington County, which is included among the counties in the study, ranked second to last just above Crawford County.
While Floyd County has a jail capacity of 330, Crawford County’s capacity is 78. Washington County’s jail capacity is 254 inmates. Although the county could accept inmates from other jails – which would generate some income – Miller said his staffing isn’t adequate to handle more inmates.
Currently, some correction officers have been asked to work 16-hour shifts and to work on scheduled days off.
A road deputy has been temporarily named interim jail commander, but Miller said that won’t last long.
“The public expects me to get a third shift back on the road,” Miller said. “I’m just trying to stop the bleeding now.” Those third-shift patrols ended earlier this year when Miller said he didn’t have enough deputies to cover the shift. The Indiana State Police agreed to help with overnight patrols. Since then, the Council approved a pay increase for deputies.
Miller worries about the liability exposure the county has because of the vacancy in the jail commander’s post.