Walla Walla County corrections officials warn overtime and PFML are straining jail operations

Walla Walla County’s corrections director told commissioners on March 2 that the jail’s average daily population rose to 89 in February, up from 78 in January, and that a string of court commitments and staff absences has driven overtime sharply higher.

“Overtime for the month of February was $28,265.02,” Director Steve Parker said, citing increases tied to paid family and medical leave (PFML), an officer on military leave and other extended absences. Parker said the facility had a high mark of 101 inmates during the month and had 16 people committed to Eastern State Hospital.

Parker described steps that have eased some workload — a new in-cell phone system that lets inmates call attorneys without staff escorting them and other operational changes — but stressed the staffing pinch remained. He said the department has 22 of 24 corrections-officer positions filled, with an operations deputy commander position and two officer slots open, and that ongoing absences have resulted in unfilled shifts equivalent to roughly 3½ full positions.

Commissioners probed the near-term budget implications. “If we continue to trend like this, we’re probably going to need a budget amendment much sooner than the fall,” Commissioner Clayton said, asking the director for projections. Parker estimated a minimal overtime baseline of roughly $23,000 in March even under optimistic hiring assumptions, and said realistic overtime will be higher because veteran staff get priority on overtime shifts.

The board and director also discussed whether to refill the vacant operations position beneath the commander. Commissioner Fulmer urged recruiting for that role to restore succession capacity, saying the county lacks a fallback if the director becomes unavailable. Parker warned that filling another position without adding staff elsewhere could push overtime “into the $30,000 range.”

Parker said training and recruitment are under way: two officers are attending an academy, others are scheduled for training, and the department is actively interviewing for approved HCA-funded positions. He asked the board to consider the long-term staffing plan as part of budget discussions.

Next steps: commissioners directed staff to continue monitoring overtime trends, bring forward budget options as needed and pursue filling critical supervisory positions while weighing short-term overtime impacts.