Sheriff and jail administrators seek personnel fixes; commissary and records clerks under review

Sheriff Hensley and jail administrators presented the sheriff’s and jail budgets and described several staffing and program requests. They asked the council to formalize changes in the matron/commissary manager job description — the matron operates the inmate commissary, a self‑supporting program that funds equipment, training and commodities for the sheriff’s office — and to consider compensation tied to the increased workload and complexity of the commissary (tracking serial numbers, e‑cigarette controls, multiple weekly orders and vendor management). Presenters said the commissary fund has grown and supports a wide range of costs that otherwise would fall to county general. On the jail records function, the sheriff said a full‑time records clerk (managing the inmate trust account and daily transactions) will be vacant in two weeks and the department is having trouble filling a part‑time backing position; the sheriff asked permission to advertise the full‑time slot and noted the position requires bonding and careful financial controls. Jail leadership also requested raising transport‑officer pay to align with jailer pay per hour because transport officers are frequently outside the secure facility on highways and at hospitals; presenters said comparable training requirements and roadside liabilities justify parity. Nut graf: The meeting covered operational requests—fixes to commissary oversight, a prompt replacement of an incoming records clerk to protect inmate trust accounting, and a transport‑officer pay alignment to reflect roadside risk. Ending: Council staff and the sheriff agreed to advertise the records‑clerk vacancy and to examine the commissary job description and compensation; transport‑officer pay alignment will be considered in the jail budget and during the council’s compensation review.