Sheriff asks Warrick County Council to reclassify jail maintenance post; council approves pay increase

The Warrick County sheriff, speaking by phone, told the County Council that he wants a current jail maintenance position reclassified to facilities manager because the county is moving from a roughly 30,000-square-foot facility to an approximately 80,000-square-foot building on about 18 acres and the duties already match the higher classification. "We're going to be going from a 30,000 square foot building to roughly 80,000 plus 18 acres," he said, adding the employee already handles boiler and HVAC tasks and will receive additional training, including a locks class.

Council members asked whether funds were available. The sheriff said the increase—shown on the agenda as $14,810—would be funded from the jail budget and offset by moving another position to public safety. "This is funded out of the jail which is county general property tax funds but we've offset it by moving a position over to public safety," he said.

Councilmember Brad Overton moved to approve the salary-ordinance adjustment and Pat Brooks seconded; the council voted to carry the motion unanimously.

Why it matters: The reclassification is intended to align pay with responsibilities before the facility expansion and to keep maintenance and facility systems work in house rather than contracting out. Council members noted this midyear change is atypical and said they would normally route such changes through the personnel committee, but they supported the request given the upcoming facility move.

What’s next: The council approved the adjustment during the meeting and the sheriff said he would return for routine updates; no additional formal actions were scheduled at the meeting.