The future of Benton County’s 740-bed lockup hangs in the balance Tuesday as the county’s elected commissioners revisit plans to remove it from the control of the county sheriff.
The commission will consider a resolution establishing a new Department of Corrections to operate the jail under its supervision when it meets at 9 a.m. at the county courthouse in Prosser, 620 Market St.
Its meetings are public and are telecast to a viewing site at the Benton County Justice Center, 7122 WE W. Okanogan St., Kennewick.
The issue has been brewing since last spring, when Sheriff Steve Keane retired for health reasons. The commission appointed then-Undersheriff Jerry Hatcher to serve until an election could be held in November to finish Keane’s term, which expires in 2018.
With the change in leadership, Commissioners Jerome Delvin raised the possibility of creating a corrections department within the county, saying it could give commissioners better control over an operation that consumes about a quarter of the county’s operating budget.
“We need to have more oversight over that,” Delvin said last week, when the commission held an impromptu discussion of the issue that was not on its agenda.
Delvin has the support of Jim Beaver, the commission’s chairman, who noted the key to business success is, “to find somebody who does this everyday and hire them.
Hatcher, who is running against Kennewick Police Sgt. Ken Lattin in the Nov. 7 election for the balance of Keane’s term, defended jail management, saying it runs a lean operation, is subject to budget scrutiny and is a model facility for other counties.
Hatcher has an ally in Commissioner Shon Small, who called for an evaluation of the jail before moving to separate it from the sheriff’s office.
But, in a sign that the jail’s future could be an election issue, Hatcher told the commission it should separate it from the sheriff’s office if Lattin wins the job. Without naming Lattin, Hatcher said his opponent lacks jail management experience.
The Benton County commission discusses removing the 740-bed jail from the county sheriff’s office when it meets Sept. 19.
File Tri-City Herald
Lattin has not commented on the matter.
Six of Washington’s 39 counties have independent jails while the rest are overseen by elected sheriffs.
Tuesday’s agenda describes the jail issue as a discussion matter but the agenda package includes a resolution to establish a corrections department and adopt a job description for the new post of jail administrator.
The commission and staff have worked with The Prothman Co., a Northwest executive recruitment firm that helped it develop a job description for the post.
The jail’s 100-plus employees would become employees of the jail administrator rather than the sheriff. Jail deputies are represented by Teamsters Local 839, which has not taken a position on the issue.
According to the four-page job description, the newly created post of jail administrator will plan, administer, organize and manage the activities of the jail and correctional programs.
Candidates must have a bachelor’s degree and a minimum of five years of progressively responsible experience in the criminal justice field and two years of managerial and supervisory experience. A master’s degree is preferred and the candidate must be able to pass a background investigation.
