Lenawee County Sheriff Larry Richardson has known for a while that his jail does not have enough staff to meet state regulations.
But without money to hire, the sheriff said there's not much he can do to get his department in compliance.
Sheriff Richardson was sued Dec. 22 by the state attorney general's office for inadequate jail staffing. The lawsuit, initiated by the Michigan Department of Corrections, says the sheriff needs five more corrections officers. The sheriff was ordered to appear April 26 in Lenawee County Circuit Court before Judge Harvey Koselka.
“I guess I'm going to court,” Sheriff Richardson said. “We're in the process of building a new jail that will be done no later than October. I'm hoping we can ask for a delay until the new jail is built.”
Staffing has been a contentious issue between the sheriff and the county commissioners, who ordered cuts of 8.2 percent from each county department. Sheriff Richardson said his department can be brought into compliance only if commissioners give him the money necessary to hire more staff.
But commissioners said it is impossible to give the sheriff more money during a time when the county is struggling to balance its budget.
The commission had planned to hire two correctional officers this year but put those hires on hold. The sheriff said the state proceeded with legal action because the commission backed out on the hires.
Commissioners said they hoped to reach an acceptable solution months ago when they authorized the sheriff to relocate five members of his staff of more than 100 to satisfy the state's requirement, Chairman Larry Gould said.
Mr. Gould said this would help the county make it to the fall, when the jail is built and additional staffing won't be needed because of the building's configuration. Sheriff Richardson said this would mean moving people off road patrol - a move he is not willing to make.
“Crime is not taking a recess,” he said. “With our crime the way it is, it would be stupid to bring them in to work the jail.”
According to the lawsuit, Lenawee County does not meet state requirements because it does not have a guard in the women's area 24 hours a day. Sheriff Richardson said that although the women's dormitory - formerly a recreation room - is staffed for the majority of the day, he does not have enough female guards to monitor it full time. And when male guards are used, they must work in pairs, he said, which creates another problem when there is limited staff.
Commissioner Jim Van Doren, who serves on the criminal justice committee, said the commission agreed that the sheriff's department is out of compliance. He added that the commission hoped the sheriff would rearrange some of his employees, even if they weren't from the road patrol division.
“It's just unfortunate that the sheriff has backed himself into a corner,” Mr. Van Doren said. “It's unfortunate that while we are in this time when the jail is being built and when we have financial trouble, we can't all work together to move ahead.”
Lenawee County Prosecutor Irv Shaw is filling out a response to a questionnaire filed by the state with the lawsuit. Sheriff Richardson said he hopes Mr. Shaw can persuade the state to delay action until the larger jail is finished.
First Published January 5, 2004, 12:51 p.m.
