Marshall County Sheriff Matt Hassel presented a salary ordinance amendment to the Marshall County Council members Monday morning.
Sheriff Hassel proposed moving court security workers from a 35-hour work week to a 40-hour work week.
Currently, there are two security officers that work for the sheriff at the Marshall County Courthouse. When they take an hour lunch break, only one security officer remains at the entrance of the courthouse which Sheriff Hassel says poses a safety risk.
Sheriff Hassel commented, “Now, if I’m mad at a spouse or I’m mad at a judge or something and I want to create harm and discontent, the first person I’m going to take out is that one security guard sitting there in that nice uniform telling me, ‘I’m the one that’s going to stop you’.”
The sheriff told the council members that he wants to eliminate that by having the officers be paid through the lunch hour and eat when they can while on duty to maintain safety.
The security officer at the Marshall County Building would be under the same ordinance.
There are other security officers at the courthouse, but only two that are under the jurisdiction of the sheriff.
The council members unanimously approved the ordinance which went into effect immediately after passage.
