Commission authorizes sheriff to manage jail staffing and addresses grant and spending issues at correctional center

The Grand Forks County Commission approved several public‑safety items April 1, including acceptance of a $30,000 state grant for a large‑scale incident exercise, an internal plan to address unapproved expenditures from a state retention award, and a reorganization of the jail chain of command that ultimately gave the sheriff discretion over a jail administrator position.

Grant award for exercise: Emergency management staff requested approval to accept a $30,000 award from the North Dakota Department of Emergency Services that county officials said came from excess funds reallocated by the state. The commission voted to accept the grant and to authorize county staff to sign subrecipient paperwork naming Michelle Olsen (listed in meeting materials) as the subrecipient signatory. The county said the exercise would likely take place this summer and would involve multiple local partners.

Back the Blue grant expenditures: County staff notified the commission that the state’s Back the Blue program had originally been intended for hiring and retention bonuses and tuition and fees for sworn personnel. A review found roughly $38,000 in expenditures at the correctional center that the attorney general’s office later advised were not allowable under the program (items cited included vending machines, appliances, break‑room furnishings and similar purchases). The county reported that it awarded the full eligible $88,000 in retention payments to correctional officers (excluding administrators) and said staff had identified budget line items—building improvements, furniture and equipment, specialty supplies—from which to reallocate the unapproved $38,000. The sheriff’s office said most of the purchased items were customized and likely not returnable.

Jail operations, personnel and policy changes: Sheriff Snyder provided a broad operational update after being assigned oversight of the jail at the prior meeting. Highlights included cancellation of an expensive private dumpster contract that the sheriff’s office said had been costing roughly $2,000 a month ($24,000 annually) and the plan to replace it with a city dumpster (staff estimated roughly $6,000 per year for alternatives). The sheriff reported billing issues with Summit, the jail food contractor, and said he had identified approximately $3,000 in overcharges on recent invoices that staff were addressing.

The sheriff described a series of administrative steps taken since taking oversight: purchasing a commercial policy‑management subscription for the jail’s policies, beginning random drug and alcohol testing for correctional staff (the policy was pushed out effective April 1), and expanding training for line staff and supervisors. He also said the jail’s current application and hiring process was not producing sufficient completed county applications (14 applicants produced only two completed county applications in one hiring cycle), creating a risk that the new jail pod planned to open July 1 could be delayed because of staffing shortfalls.

Change to jail‑administrator authority: A commission motion to delete the jail administrator position and terminate the employment of “Mr. Berkholder” (identified in the meeting packet as the jail administrator) was put forward, then withdrawn and refiled to give the sheriff authority to act. After discussion about case law concerning sheriff‑hiring authority in North Dakota, the commission passed an amended motion delegating the final decision to the sheriff; the record shows the motion passed 3–2.

Interlocal law‑enforcement contract: County staff presented a coordinated contract for law enforcement services with the cities of Northwood and Larimore. The draft contract retained a one‑year vehicle retention provision for Northwood’s cruiser during the first year after a deputy’s training period and changed the opt‑out period to 90 days (from 30). Staff said both councils would consider the agreement at upcoming council meetings and a proposed start date of July 1 aligned with the planned opening of the new jail pod. Commissioners voted to approve the contract as presented at the meeting.

The commission did not allocate additional county funds during the actions reported, but staff were asked to follow up with details on reallocated budget lines for the Back the Blue remediation, continued coordination on the exercise grant, and hiring and recruitment plans for the jail.