Carbon County to hire more correction officers

Carbon County officials are looking to hire a few good corrections officers.

On Thursday, the county salary board approved the establishment of four full-time corrections officer positions at the county prison, bringing the total number of full-time corrections officers at the jail to 43. The position carries a $16.89 hourly starting wage.

Commissioner Thomas J. Gerhard said the move is something the prison board has been discussing for quite a while.

“We’ve been paying out a tremendous amount of overtime,” he said.

Commissioner William O’Gurek said the staffing issue at the prison isn’t anything new.

In 2016, Carbon County paid about $400,000 in overtime cost to staff at the prison, due to a staffing shortage.

“A lot of time when part-timers aren’t available, we end up mandating (corrections officers), and the prison board is concerned not only on the cost of that, but the safety of the officers who are sometimes mandated to work 20 to 30 hours a week over (their 40 hours),” O’Gurek said. “That’s a concern.”

County Controller Robert Crampsie said the number of corrections officers positions was set when the prison was built decades ago, with the thought that remaining shifts could be filled by part-time staff.

“It worked for a period of time,” he said, adding that as the prison population grew and the full-time employees got more vacation and sick time, the way the staffing operations ran started to become a problem.

“The past few years overtime has been an issue at the prison,” Crampsie said.

The other problems, he pointed out, were that part-timers are not always available to cover shifts, and Carbon has a problem with hiring and keeping qualified part-timers.

“It’s a calculated, well thought out decision,” O’Gurek said, adding that due to the current situation, some of the part-timers are already working close to 1,500 hours a year, which then would require the county to offer those people benefits. “We think it’s the best route to go and solves some real staffing issues that we have now.”

The positions are being posted in newspapers around the region in hopes of attracting more interest, as well as giving the current part-time staff the opportunity to apply.

In a related matter, the county salary board also abolished 10 part-time corrections officer positions in a move to offset the full-time positions. Those positions were part of a pool of 25 part-time positions at the prison that have not been filled.

The moves are part of a long-term discussion about staffing at the prison.