Detention-center administrator part of deal to get jail reopened

Discussions continued on Monday, Nov. 13, regarding the closure of the Mineral County jail. After dealing with the resignation of Sheriff Tom Bauer, the Mineral County Commissioners meeting turned to the task of getting the jail reopened.

A committee had been formed and met during the week to discuss steps that needed to be taken. Lance Jasper, who is a trial lawyer, listed seven steps they recommended. Number one was to do maintenance and refurbish the jail. Once that step is completed, members of Missoula and Sanders detention centers volunteered to inspect the facility for approval.

A decision was made to hire a detention-center administrator. The detention center will be made separate from the sheriff’s office and the administrator will report directly to the commissioners. It was also recommended to continue to advertise for the hiring of detention officers with the pay depending on experience.

To fund the center administrator’s position, the county would reduce the number of deputies by one, hopefully for a short period of time. It was also recommended for the county to open a line of communication with the Missoula detention center with the possibility of using some of their detention officers for field training and supervision. The recommendations were approved by the commissioners.

The jail was closed on Dec. 3 due to insufficient staffing. After a jailer was let go and two more quit over the past few weeks it left only two jailers to staff the facility. The jail was built in the 1990s and can house up to 28 inmates. When it closed, around 15 inmates were sent to other facilities.

In addition to arrests made in Mineral County overflow prisoners from other counties and those made by the Montana Highway Patrol are usually housed in the county jail. Overflow and highway patrol prisoners use the facility at a cost of about $62 which is low compared to other jails. For example Missoula jail costs about $100.

During an earlier meeting Commissiner Roman Zylawy said the biggest problems facing the county with the jails closure is the inconvenience for law enforcement, judges and the incurred cost of transportation and housing if prisoners are sent elsewhere.

“Last year with the jail, revenue and tax dollars the jail was actually a loss of $74,000. Sometimes there maybe a year where we break even. In 2015 it was a loss of $149,000, in 2016 it was a loss of $80,000,” he said.

If, on average there are five inmates a week they have to house elsewhere it will be a $180K loss to the county. The detention center is considered fully staffed with six employees. Currently detention officers make between $10 and $11 per hour. A meeting with union representative is scheduled for Nov. 20 to discuss salaries.

Acting Sheriff Mike Boone is also working on a COPS grant to try and get funding to help pay for some of the deputies’ salaries.

“I’m not feeling comfortable with the loss of a deputy to help fund the jailer position because right now we’re short-handed which puts a burden on the current staff,” he said.

However, if there is a big emergency in the area, they can call on law enforcement from other counties. Several community members at the meeting expressed the need to find way to retain officers. The county has a high turnover rate and pays for the officer’s training only to have them leave for a job in another county that pays better. Last week the sheriff’s department had five applicants for deputy jobs. However, most applicants would need to go through training and that will take three months before assuming job duties.