Cowlitz County jail shows personnel underspend while relying on temps and overtime to meet staffing needs

Kathy Funk Baxter, Cowlitz County finance director, told commissioners on Feb. 3 that the jail’s personnel budget was underspent for the 2024 fiscal year because positions remain unfilled, but the facility relied on temporary employees and overtime to operate.

The county’s finance director said the jail’s personnel budget was about $6.95 million with actuals at roughly $6.50 million for the year. "There's 7 open," she said of corrections positions, noting that the vacancy count had improved from nine the prior year. Baxter added that the jail fills gaps "with temps" and that overtime is also used when shifts are short.

Why this matters: The finance presentation combined budget figures with operational context that helps explain a sizable variance between budgeted payroll and actual payroll costs. Commissioners pressed staff for additional numbers — especially on overtime — to understand whether reliance on temps and overtime is a short-term fix or a recurring cost driver.

Baxter said outstanding vendor billings and intergovernmental revenues affect the department’s revenue lines; she also reported a line-item change on a planned capital purchase. The county moved the Guardian RFID inmate-tracking system into the 2025 budget after an expected 2024 purchase was delayed. "It was proposed and budgeted for 2024, but it's now going to be contracted and expensed in 2025," she said, later noting the cost reduced from an earlier estimate: "…we approved, I think, a budget of 55,000, and it's now going to be more like 34,000 with taxes or something like that, 35,000." The county presented that capital line as anticipated but deferred.

Staff described the jail’s full staffing plan as 55 full-time equivalent (FTE) positions assigned to the jail, with 42 of those FTEs specifically authorized as corrections officers. Marin, a corrections operations staff member who joined the presentation, said, "The 42 is is what we need to operate. That's what we base our schedule on for the year." Marin confirmed that seven of those corrections-officer positions were vacant and that the county is using temporary employees, hiring rolling starts, and using overtime (including forced overtime when necessary) to meet minimum daily shift staffing requirements.

County staff supplied a 2024 overtime total for the jail during the meeting: "2024 jail overtime cost, was 641,000," Baxter told the board. That overtime is already included in the department’s reported payroll actuals.

The presentation also covered smaller budget items tied to inmate programs and services. Jail concessions — funds from phone and commissary systems — are tracked separately and used for inmate-related items such as clothing for trustee workers and in-house programming, Baxter said.

What happens next: Commissioners asked for more detailed breakdowns, including the total overtime spent in 2024 and the timeline for filling vacancies. Staff said they would provide the overtime totals and additional detail on hiring and the tentative agreement with the corrections union that allows temporary staffing through 2025.

Ending: County finance staff said they will follow up with a more detailed overtime report and hiring timeline for the jail; the Guardian RFID purchase will remain in the 2025 budget and the jail will continue to use a mix of temps and overtime while vacancies are filled.