2 more deputies, 6 new jail staff needed, McNamee says

Rich McNamee, Henry County sheriff, is requesting additional deputies and additional jail staff for fiscal year 2020.

McNamee presented his fiscal year 2020 (FY20) budget to supervisors at a regular meeting on Tuesday, Jan. 29, asking supervisors to consider his request for two more deputies with the rising calls for service and six more jailers for the new 96-bed jail that will be opened this fall. FY20 is July 1, 2019, to June 30, 2020.

The Sheriff's Office currently is budgeted for 10 deputies. In 2005, supervisors approved an 11th deputy, but it was removed from the budget in 2013. McNamee said he would like to add an additional two, bringing the total number of deputies in the Sheriff's Office up to 12, to cover calls for service.

The Sheriff's Office receives more calls than a decade ago. In 2008, they received 3,313 calls, or about 25 calls per deputy per month. In 2018, they received 8,042 calls, or about 67 calls per deputy per month.

Adding two deputies would mean they were accepting an average of 56 calls a month based on data from 2018, still more than twice the amount of calls per deputy than a decade ago, McNamee said.

McNamee said the seriousness of those calls has changed drastically too. Deputies are responding to more violent situations compared to a decade ago. There still is one shift every day where only one deputy is on duty.

'In 2019, that's a risk,” McNamee said.

The Sheriff's Office will require more jail staff as they transition to the new jail around October.

The new jail is a 96-bed facility. Currently, the Sheriff's Office uses an eight-bed facility. McNamee asked for two additional part-time jailers and four full-time jailers for a total of 17 jail staff.

McNamee cited a labor study done for the new jail, which at the time was planned for as a 44-bed facility. A 44-bed jail would need six additional staff members, according to the study, McNamee said.

The new jail will bring in some revenue from other counties who house their offenders in Henry County, helping to cover the cost of additional jailers, McNamee said. Sheriffs from three other counties have told McNamee they would bring inmates to Henry County, he said.

'Revenue projections will easily pay for the additional staff,” McNamee said.

The Henry County Jail processed 811 inmates in 2018.

McNamee said there are a lot of unknowns in the Sheriff's Office going into FY20, and the next budget proposal will be just as chaotic.

'I don't want to jump into this and have chaos,” McNamee said. 'I want to work ourselves into the new building. I think it will be a shellshock to our staff.

Younger, new jail staff are excited for the new facility, and McNamee said he believes they will easily transition.

McNamee said his proposal for additional jail staff is the 'bare minimum recommendation” under the labor study. They cannot operate a 96-bed facility with 11 jail staff, and they are using the labor study as a guideline on how to proceed, McNamee said.

'It will seem like I'm greedy, but it's important to staff the (jail) correctly. I don't mean over staffed or understaffed, I mean correctly,” McNamee said.