Cowlitz County approves MOU with corrections guild to add signing and retention payments amid staffing crisis

The Cowlitz County Board of County Commissioners on Tuesday approved a memorandum of understanding with the Cowlitz County Corrections Officers Guild that adds a $6,000 sign-on payment for new hires and retention payments for incumbent officers payable over two years.

The agreement, offered in response to a sustained staffing shortfall in the county jail, won a majority vote after several commissioners questioned whether one-time payments would fix long-term recruiting problems and whether the MOU could set a precedent for future contracts.

Commissioners and jail leadership described a multi-year decline in qualified applicants and rising overtime. Marin Fox, Corrections Director, told the board that “they have to work a lot of forced overtime, and a forced overtime shift can look like 18 hours with a 6 hour turnaround,” and said the overtime and vacancy picture has strained staff and operations. Fox said the county is budgeted for 42 corrections officers and was down six positions at the time of the meeting, with two recruits at the academy and not yet available for duty.

Fox described the structure of the proposed payments during the meeting: a $6,000 sign-on amount for new hires, and approximately $8,000 in total retention payments for current officers, disbursed over two years for employees who have passed probation. The board heard that a starting corrections officer wage is $32.48 an hour; staff said the retention payment for a new hire is slightly under 6% of that starting annual pay.

The guild had previously allowed the county to use temporary staff in control-room positions (not in the inmate population) while vacancies persisted. Fox told commissioners the guild has indicated it will no longer permit use of temps after the end of the year, creating urgency for a long-term staffing solution. Fox also said the MOU is separate from the collective bargaining agreement; the memorandum can be ended after its stated term unless both parties agree to continue it.

Commissioners pressed on several topics before the vote: whether bonuses would invite other bargaining units to seek similar terms, whether signing or retention payments would fix an underlying recruitment-quality problem, and whether targeted alternatives (such as modifying job classifications or expanding lateral recruitment) had been fully explored. One commissioner said, “I don't think throwing money at it is gonna fix it,” while others argued the county must keep the jail staffed to preserve public safety and that the costs of continued overtime and forced staffing shortfalls are significant.

County staff and several commissioners said historical data show overtime declines when vacancies are reduced (staff cited past years with lower vacancy counts and lower overtime totals). Fox said the county recorded about $640,000 in overtime for the jail during the last year and that prior years with fewer vacancies had substantially lower overtime costs.

After discussion the board voted to approve the MOU. The memorandum runs for a fixed term; commissioners were told it could be reviewed after one year if they elected to shorten the review period.

The vote carries operational implications beyond pay: Fox told the board that if vacancies remain critical, the county could consider restricting bookings to mandated categories (all felonies and the two misdemeanors for which the jail is required to accept custody: DUI and domestic violence), a move that would require coordination with law enforcement and the courts.

The board directed staff to proceed under the approved MOU and to continue recruiting, with some commissioners urging further work on longer-term recruitment, classification and contract language changes for future bargaining rounds.