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Clare County official proposes new jail command bargaining unit, estimates $40,000 annual cost
Summary
A county corrections official (Ed) proposed reorganizing jail ranks into a separate command bargaining unit to improve supervision, citing regional wage studies and saying the change would increase the budget roughly $40,000 per year; he reported about 130 inmates, including roughly 50 federal inmates.
Ed, a county corrections-area official, told the board the jail's rank structure dates from the original facility build and that corporals and jail administrators are currently placed in bargaining units that limit supervisory clarity. He said the county proposes reclassifying ranks into a separate jail command bargaining unit with ranks such as captain, jail lieutenant and jail sergeant to improve supervision and retention.
"We have right now right about a 130 inmates. Pushing close to 50 federal inmates," Ed said, describing current population and the county's effort to house additional inmates. He also told the board his office is working to increase federal per-diem rates, reporting a proposed federal-rate increase from $67 to $75 per inmate.
Ed estimated the rank-change plan would increase the county's annual personnel costs by roughly $40,000 and described the change as part of the budget-cycle planning so the bargaining cycle could align with other contracts next year. Board members asked about implementation timing, whether annual step increases were automatic under the proposed change, and whether the county would begin negotiating when contracts expire in late 2027.
The board did not take a final vote on the jail-rank proposal at the meeting; staff noted the proposed budget now includes a $40,000 line item reflecting the change and that additional negotiation and bargaining-unit action would follow.
