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Council committee raises timing and process concerns over probate and juvenile center staffing changes
Summary
County council members pressed probate/JJC representatives about multiple new positions that were filled earlier in the year without prior salary-ordinance approval, and asked for retroactive salary adjustments and clearer procedures for future transitions.
A lengthy March 14 committee discussion focused on staffing reorganizations and salary amendments for the county probate court and the Juvenile Justice Center (JJC), prompting council members to press administrators on timing, prior notice and retroactive pay authority.
Andrea Halpin, chief compliance officer for the probate court, and Kristen Cooper, controller for the probate/JJC, presented a budget-neutral transfer request (Bill 25-25 and related bills) that consolidated funds and created several new administrative positions. The presenters said the positions — including director of operations, senior advisor, program coordinator and assistant deputy director — have been filled since the beginning of the year and that the transfers are intended to reallocate existing budget lines rather than add new county-wide funding.
Council members repeatedly emphasized county salary-ordinance procedures and expressed concern that several new positions had already been staffed before salary-ordinance approvals were presented to the council. Council member Thomas asked why the council was receiving requests “3 months after actually hiring someone and employing them.” Members noted the council’s statutory role in approving salary ordinances and asked departments to be more timely about bringing changes forward.
Presenters said turnover after the election and a transition in controller staff contributed to the timing. Halpin and Cooper said they met with auditor’s staff in December and again in February after controllers changed and that they took action as soon as they could. Committee members accepted that operational needs required continuity of services at the JJC and probate courts but insisted the council must be notified earlier in future transitions.
Committee members also pressed on operational details: changes to detention-officer counts (three positions moved that had been associated with the discontinued BridgeLink program), whether juvenile populations would be segregated after moving youths from the county jail back to the JJC, and whether detention staffing would be sufficient. Presenters said juveniles transferred from the county jail are housed in separate areas and that detention supervisors planned staffing to manage those residents.
The committee voted to forward the salary-transfer bills with a favorable recommendation; several council members asked that any full-council approvals include retroactive effective dates to January 1 to align payrolls and avoid State Board of Accounts findings.
