Council approves converting sheriff's part‑time front‑desk/offender role to full time

Pulaski County council members approved converting a part‑time front‑desk employee who also handles offender supervision into a full‑time position, following a presentation that said the workload and training demands make the role effectively full time. The motion was made, seconded and carried by a voice/raise-of-hands vote.

The speaker seeking the change said the employee currently performs offender‑related duties that require substantial training and that multiple offenders visit weekly to report changes in residence, vehicles and other status updates. The speaker said roughly $19,000 could be transferred from another line to cover part of the cost this year and that it would take about $7,200 to fund the remainder through the end of the fiscal year.

Council members discussed payroll matrix placement and were told the person could be moved into the lowest dispatcher tier without creating a new matrix classification; the proposed pay rate for that tier was given as $21.88 per hour for the employee, who has less than a year in the current role. A motion to convert the part‑time position to full time at that matrix level was restated and then approved. The chair announced the motion carried and the requester said she would notify the employee.

The motion does not specify longer‑term budget impacts beyond the current fiscal year; staff said they expect to fund the position through the balance of the current year from existing balances and that the position could likely be sustained into next year depending on next year's budget.