With overcrowding issues a growing trend at the Marshall County Jail, Sheriff Matt Hassel asked the Marshall County Council members Monday morning for additional employees to provide some relief.
“Our all-time record is 296 and we have 292 sitting in there today,” said Sheriff Hassel. “Our recommended capacity from the inspector is 239. With our population now as high as it is, my staff is overwhelmed. If I could get three additional employees, that would allow me one additional person per day shift and per evening shift seven days a week.”
To help offset the cost, the sheriff explained that the State recently took the three-year average number of inmates the county jail is housing for the DOC, plus the Level 6 felony offenders. That lump sum was paid in July.
“That was $259,613 which would easily cover our additional for those additional employees for a year. About $208,000 is what I figured it would cost for three additional employees for a whole year. And I took everything into consideration.”
Hassel shook his head and told the council that he wished he could come to them with a better idea of how to resolve the issues right now. The drug problem in the county is a concern.
“People aren’t behaving and it’s the drug problems. The bulk of the population there is pre-trial and they’re not going to be able to afford their bond because they were trafficking drugs. Methamphetamine – we don’t even talk heroin anymore. Our Narcan box sits there and gets no activity at all because Narcan works for heroin, not meth. So, our drug of choice in this county is meth, but we’re not the only one though.”
With that, the council members approved over $100,000 in an additional appropriation request out of the Jail LIT Special Fund to cover life and health insurance, PERF, wages, and social security costs.
