Eau Claire County jail job numbers change again
| By Andrew Dowd |
| Leader-Telegram staff |
| Flak from Eau Claire County Board members and the public prompted Sheriff's Department leaders to cut the staffing request for additional employees to run the new jail. After presenting a 37.5 full-time equivalency request last week in committee meetings, Sheriff Ron Cramer and Jail Administrator Dan Bresina said they cut that number to 20 by Tuesday night's County Board meeting. "We're down to 20 this evening," Cramer said. After an erroneous request for 19 employees had been made, followed by the 37.5 figure, board member Pat LaVelle said he's worried the Sheriff's Department will ask for even more staff after opening the new jail in April 2010. "I'd like to see it at 20, but I'm afraid it's gonna go higher," LaVelle said. Board member Ken Fulgione razzed county staff for proceeding with a multimillion dollar construction project without a firm budget on the day-to-day costs to operate the new facility. "I am totally astounded that this continues to go on," he said. Staffing costs weren't the only jail issue County Board members railed on Tuesday night. The county incurred $5,000 in added costs for delays in closing the purchase of a property bought for the new jail. "Basically it's a penalty for not closing it on a timely basis," county attorney Keith Zehms said. The County Board approved purchase of Gerald Mattson's house at 741 Second Ave. for $148,000 plus $25,000 in relocation expenses at its June 17 meeting, but the deal didn't close until Tuesday morning. County Board member Will Fantle asked why the county was delayed in its purchase. Project manager Frank Draxler said there were multiple people working on the deal with Mattson, and he didn't know why closing did not meet the deadline. "I don't have the full story," he said. However, he added that it would be brought to the Administration Committee next week. In his status report to the board on the new jail and courthouse remodeling project, Draxler said it still is coming in at the approved price and timeline. "We are still on budget; we're within the $59.1 million," he said. If the county can secure rezoning for the jail from the Eau Claire City Council in August and construction begins in mid-October, Draxler said, the budget should hold despite increases in building materials costs. Dowd can be reached at 833-9204, 800-236-7077 or andrew.dowd@ecpc.com. - The request for 20 additional positions for the new Eau Claire County Jail will go to the Judiciary and Law Enforcement Committee next week before proceeding to other committees and then the County Board. |
