MONROE - The Green County Sheriff's Department has had 13 jailers on staff for the past three years when they are only budgeted for 12, and the sheriff is now asking the Green County Board to pass a resolution that would allow them to keep the extra jailer.
That the jail was overstaffed had gone unnoticed until recently because the sheriff's department has been running under budget for the past few years. Sheriff Mark Rohloff only noticed that he was overstaffed by looking at past budgets, which are separated into sections like "jail," "patrol" and "dispatch." He noticed that the budget called for 12 jailers, but he had enough money to pay for a 13th.
"As near as anyone can tell, no one authorized us for 13 jailers," Rohloff said during a law enforcement and public safety meeting May 14.
The law enforcement committee made a motion to bring the issue before the county personnel committee Wednesday to try and rectify the problem and create an ordinance that allows for a 13th jailer. Former sheriff Randy Roderick explained that the extra position slipped in somewhere during the three- to six-month period when he was retiring in 2010. At that time there were four positions open at the sheriff's office. There were two vacant jailer positions and two patrol positions, but somehow five people got hired and no one noticed. This came at a time when there was some shuffling in the chain of command - as Roderick retired, Jeff Skatrud took over for him and Dick Wyttenbach moved to deputy sheriff. During this confusing period of time, an extra position was created, but no one can pinpoint when or why.
"I don't think we will ever know how this happened," Roderick said.
The personnel committee moved to write an ordinance to change the roster for jailers, allowing the sheriff's office to keep the 13th jailer. The ordinance will come before the next Green County Board meeting. The ordinance will be worded to suggest that only the roster will change, and the sheriff's department budget will remain the same. County Clerk Mike Doyle said he will pen the ordinance the same way he would for a normal new hire, but he said he dreads explaining the disconcerting circumstances.
"It's not Mark's issue and it's not Randy's issue, it's just confusing," Doyle said.
Fellow personnel committee member Herb Hanson worried that explaining the issue to the 31 members at the next county board meeting could be troublesome.
"You can't duck the questions people will have," Hanson said.
Sheriff Rohloff said he hopes the board will vote to change the roster so he can keep the jailer.
"If we lost one, I don't think I could handle that," he said.
That the jail was overstaffed had gone unnoticed until recently because the sheriff's department has been running under budget for the past few years. Sheriff Mark Rohloff only noticed that he was overstaffed by looking at past budgets, which are separated into sections like "jail," "patrol" and "dispatch." He noticed that the budget called for 12 jailers, but he had enough money to pay for a 13th.
"As near as anyone can tell, no one authorized us for 13 jailers," Rohloff said during a law enforcement and public safety meeting May 14.
The law enforcement committee made a motion to bring the issue before the county personnel committee Wednesday to try and rectify the problem and create an ordinance that allows for a 13th jailer. Former sheriff Randy Roderick explained that the extra position slipped in somewhere during the three- to six-month period when he was retiring in 2010. At that time there were four positions open at the sheriff's office. There were two vacant jailer positions and two patrol positions, but somehow five people got hired and no one noticed. This came at a time when there was some shuffling in the chain of command - as Roderick retired, Jeff Skatrud took over for him and Dick Wyttenbach moved to deputy sheriff. During this confusing period of time, an extra position was created, but no one can pinpoint when or why.
"I don't think we will ever know how this happened," Roderick said.
The personnel committee moved to write an ordinance to change the roster for jailers, allowing the sheriff's office to keep the 13th jailer. The ordinance will come before the next Green County Board meeting. The ordinance will be worded to suggest that only the roster will change, and the sheriff's department budget will remain the same. County Clerk Mike Doyle said he will pen the ordinance the same way he would for a normal new hire, but he said he dreads explaining the disconcerting circumstances.
"It's not Mark's issue and it's not Randy's issue, it's just confusing," Doyle said.
Fellow personnel committee member Herb Hanson worried that explaining the issue to the 31 members at the next county board meeting could be troublesome.
"You can't duck the questions people will have," Hanson said.
Sheriff Rohloff said he hopes the board will vote to change the roster so he can keep the jailer.
"If we lost one, I don't think I could handle that," he said.