Cape County, sheriff in hiring debate

More than $120,000 in revenue hangs in the balance as the Cape Girardeau County sheriff and the county commission debate whether another employee should be hired for federal prisoner transportation.

On Dec. 30, Sheriff John Jordan canceled a transportation agreement with the U.S. Marshals Service, saying he doesn't have enough people to safely secure the jail if one of the jailers has to be used to transport prisoners to and from court.

Jordan's action leaves an important decision in the laps of the Cape Girardeau County Commission. If the commissioners do not come up with the funds to support a certified corrections officer for the transportation services, the county will lose out on daily prisoner fees which produced $124,449 in 11 months last year.

The transportation agreement works this way: The county receives $50.82 per day for every federal prisoner it holds at its jail under a housing agreement. Under the transportation agreement, the county drives the prisoners back and forth to court for the Marshals Service. In exchange, the Marshals Service pays the county mileage and an hourly wage for the officers for the amount of time they spend in transit. In addition, the Marshals Service allows its prisoners to stay at the jail after the detainees are sentenced and until the arrangements are made to fly guilty prisoners to their federal prison destination.

Sometimes, Jordan said, prisoners can stay up to three weeks in the county jail after sentencing, meaning the county receives $50.82 every day while the prisoner is waiting.

When the agreement expires in February, Jordan said the Marshals Service most likely will send many of its prisoners to a county that has a transportation deal, such as Perry County.

$28,000 position

A year ago, Jordan made a pitch to the commission to add two positions to his staff so he could manage the transportation agreement. Two officers are required for every transport.

The commission compromised, adding one officer to the sheriff's staff.

Jordan asked that an additional position be allowed this year, with salary and benefits costing about $28,000, but the commission denied the request in its budget process.

At the time, the commission's primary objective was to provide all county employees with a 3.5 percent raise, explained Presiding Commissioner Gerald Jones.

"To do that throughout the county, we turned down additional personnel requests from everybody, not just the sheriff department."

Commission reconsidering

Now the commission is reconsidering the sheriff's request.

Jones said the commission will discuss the issue at a future meeting and take action later. He did not specify when a decision will be made.

Commissioner Joe Gambill suggested the county should downsize its prisoner population.

The jail averaged 174 local and federal inmates a day in 2003, an astounding number, Jordan said, considering the jail was opened in 2000. The increased number of inmates has put a greater work load on the jail's staff of 23.

When construction of the $8 million addition to the jail began in 1999, the county received a $1.5 million grant from the U.S. Marshals Service so that it could hold federal prisoners. The 120-bed addition was built to give the county jail enough room to house its own prisoners without having to board them elsewhere and to house federal prisoners.

Jordan said he would allow no less than three certified officers to secure the jail at any one time. Generally, he said, up to seven man the jail. He said the officers are pulled in many different directions, including transporting detainees to five different courts.

"To take officers from out of the jail with that much population, it's just not safe to pull that extra person for transportation," Jordan said.

Gambill argued that perhaps it's not wise to spend more money to make more money in this instance. The Marshals Service guarantees 33 prisoners per day.

"Maybe we're chasing bad money," Gambill said. "Maybe we should go after the 33, and let the extra go somewhere else."

But Jones said judges sometimes issue jail sentences based on whether there is enough room in the jail. He said the jail eventually will fill up with local inmates, leaving the county no reimbursement.

Jones suggests that a retired certified officer could be hired to do the job on an as-needed, part-time basis, an idea Gambill likes.

Jordan said he would look into that possibility and report back to the commission.

Avoiding litigation

Jordan said one of the reasons he halted the arrangement was to save himself from possible litigation.

He said the jail is operating on a bare-bones staff that cannot afford an extra certified officer for transportation. He said he could be held liable if someone got hurt because the jail did not provide adequate security. He also asked for an additional communications officer, a staff member he said is even more urgently needed from a safety standpoint than an officer for federal transportation.

"A communications officer works strictly for the safety of the citizens, the officers and inmates of the county, whereas a transportation agreement is a monetary thing," Jordan said.

Ultimately, Jordan questions whether the commission is giving him the budget authority he is entitled to by law. Missouri Statute 57.201 states: "The sheriff of all counties of the first class not having a charter form of government shall appoint such deputies, assistants, and other employees as he deems necessary for the proper discharge of the duties of his office and may set their compensation within the limits of the allocations made for that purpose by the county commission."

Jordan's opinion is that the county should set the bottom line for the department, but the sheriff should decide how to manage the payroll. Instead, the county approves or denies individual positions.

bmiller@semissourian.com

243-6635