Manpower at the jail

The ongoing exchange between Cape Girardeau County Sheriff John Jordan and the county commission over whether an extra deputy should be hired to transport federal prisoners raises questions about the commissioners' longtime practice of micromanaging county funds.

It's good to know they're keeping an eye on the county's purse. This commission and its predecessors have done a good job of managing the budget, which last year was $13.8 million. But the commission must approve all expenditures by any county official of $150 or more, an approach that could undercut the power of elected officeholders to decide how funds designated for their official duties should best be spent.

The current discussion jeopardizes an estimated $130,000 in annual prisoner housing reimbursements from the U.S. Marshals Service. Jordan canceled the agreement with the service, effective Jan. 31, claiming jail security is being compromised by having to use a jailer to transport prisoners to and from court.

In response, the commission has suggested alternatives that could enable the county to hire part-time deputies to be paid for with U.S. Marshals Service reimbursements. Commissioner Joe Gambill says two part-timers could be hired, freeing up a full-time communications position. Jordan says that is another need of the department and his top hiring priority.

Gambill thinks the county should be satisfied with housing the 33 federal prisoners a day the Marshals Service guarantees in its contract with the county and not try to provide enough deputies to keep more. But Presiding Commissioner Gerald Jones notes that judges aware of the jail census will fill it up with local inmates if beds are empty. The county gets no reimbursements for local inmates but $50.82 per day for federal prisoners.

The differing viewpoints have a history. A year ago, Jordan asked the commission for two new positions to handle the work of transporting federal prisoners. He got one deputy. When Jordan asked for $28,000 to hire the additional deputy this year, the commission declined, as it did all hiring requests from all departments.

Jordan doesn't think the commission has given him his statutory due when it comes to defining his own budget. He wants to be able to set the agenda for his own department within the budget constraints set by the commission. The commission wants to tell Jordan how to use the money.

The addition to the jail that opened in 2001 has saved Cape Girardeau County hundreds of thousands of dollars formerly paid to other counties to house prisoners. The new jail has allowed the county to be a landlord instead of a renter. Landlords generally like it when someone wants to pay more rent.