Detention center employees in the Seward County Justice Center may soon see a pay increase.
Maria Hatfield, detention center director, told the Seward County Commissioners at their Jan. 15 meeting she updated her employees’ job descriptions and requested a 5 percent raise for each employee.
During the board’s Jan. 2 meeting, Hatfield said she was having a hard time recruiting employees because nearby municipalities pay more.
On Jan. 15, Hatfield said since the justice center opened two years ago, detention center staff have seen their job duties change significantly.
The detention center also houses the control center, she said. It controls all the doors in the justice center.
Another major change is housing inmates from other counties.
Before the justice center was complete, Seward County had to pay other counties to house some of its inmates.
Now, in an effort to increase revenue, Seward County is charging other municipalities to hold their inmates.
Hatfield called these inmates “safe keeps” and said the county started taking them in just four months after opening the new jail.
“Taking on safe keeps that soon was a big challenge for us,” Hatfield said. “The staff has worked really hard, they put in extra commitments to deal with the safe keeps. We did it because we were trying to bring in revenue for the county.”
Some of the extra duties include changing policies and procedures in booking inmates in and out and how the county holds inmate property. Hatfield also said an increase of inmates means an increase in discipline.
“They come in and try to test the waters, see what they can get away with,” Hatfield said of the safe keeps. “We deal with their problematic behaviors and try to address it appropriately.”
The first year Seward County took in safe keeps, Hatfield said it brought in $112,000. In 2018, that increased to $202,000.
She said that revenue can go into detention center employees’ wages.
Now, the jail is short-staffed, Hatfield said. That means the detention center has to limit how many inmates it can house.
During discussion for this item, Commissioner Becky Paulsen asked if the board needed to approve the updated job descriptions, an item that was not on the agenda.
Board Chairperson John Culver asked Hatfield to send the descriptions to members of the board so they can be considered at its Jan. 22 meeting.
He said he viewed the pay increases positively but wanted to ensure county policy was followed.
amanda@sewardindependent.com
