Sheriff: operation grant approved; HomeWave contract amended; county to advertise jail captain position

Grand Forks County commissioners approved three sheriff’s office requests and heard an extended jail operations update during the meeting.

The board unanimously authorized the sheriff to accept a $71,340 Operation Stone Garden grant to support overtime costs for border‑related assistance; the transcript notes the award carries no local match requirement. The sheriff asked the board to authorize his signature on the grant documents and the motion passed.

The sheriff also presented an amendment to the county’s contract with HomeWave to add eight additional kiosks for the correctional facility’s new housing pod (referred to as Pod 4 in discussion). The sheriff said he negotiated a shorter and more flexible opt‑out clause so the county would not be locked into a long-term technology agreement. The board approved the amendment and authorized signature; the sheriff and staff noted the county’s commission revenue from inmate communications is scheduled to be affected by an upcoming Federal Communications Commission ruling, but the amendment would not change the county’s immediate commission eligibility.

Finally, county leadership and the sheriff discussed jail staffing and organization. The sheriff reported an interim jail administrator had been assigned and that he planned to advertise a new jail captain position, noting that the role will carry higher pay than those the captain will supervise and that the position will report directly to him. The board voted to advertise the jail‑captain job; the hiring classification, grade and salary range will be set through the county’s human resources and budget process.

The sheriff described other operational steps intended to reduce costs and improve retention: pursuing former corrections officers who may return, conducting additional training, auditing food‑service invoices for overcharges, and addressing building‑systems repairs that should reduce utilities costs. The sheriff and county staff warned the board there will be additional expenses associated with the facility expansion and with housing inmates received from the Department of Corrections, including food, laundry and utilities; staff indicated revenues from housing other jurisdictions’ inmates typically flow to the general fund but that net fiscal impact depends on occupancy and operating costs.

No board member opposed authorizing the grant, the contract amendment signature, or the advertisement for the jail‑captain position; recorded votes were stated as unanimous during the meeting.