By Greg Bailey
Etowah County has struggled for years to attract and retain detention deputies at its jail. That has changed to the point where positions are being added.
The County Commission on Tuesday approved the creation of five new detention deputy slots. The total cost for the remainder of the fiscal year, including salaries and benefits, is $146,595.
They’ll be funded by shifting ad valorem tax receipts around in the current budget; the expectations are those collections will increase down the road to keep the money available.
The deputies will be assigned to the Impact Program, which teaches life skills to those jailed on alcohol- or drug-related charges or for non-support. Currently, the program is manned by jail deputies working overtime.
Chief Administrative Officer Shane Ellison estimated the savings to the county would be $10 per hour worked; Chief Financial Kevin Dollar anticipated the annual savings would be $40,000.
“It’s a no-brainer,” Commissioner Jamie Grant said of the proposal. “We’re creating jobs and saving money.”
Dollar said the county has “worked diligently” to get staffing numbers at the jail where they needed to be following the end of the agreement with Immigration and Customs Enforcement to house detainees there. Commission Chairman Tim Ramsey noted that the jail has at times been 15 to 18 employees below its full allotment.
“We were begging people to work a year or two or three ago,” Grant said. “We hope to add slots to make it easier. It’s nice to get to this point.”
• Probate Judge Scott Hassell told commissioners that the turnout for the May 5 primary elections exceeded his expectations, and the voting went smoothly save “a few bumps in the road,”
A little more than 14,000 people came to the polls, Hassell said, for a turnout of roughly 18%.