01-21-2003 - Laserfiche WebLink

Commission Minutes-January 21,2003 2550 14. JAIL, Field trip to a direct supervision iail _ Mr. Wagner asked if the other commissioners were in agreement to have Sheriff Rudnick make arrangements tot our a direct supervision jail too bserve h ow it 0 perates and how management can be used effectively to control the inmate population. He suggested a field trip to the St. Louis County Jail in Duluth, Minnesota, since the members of the commission are relatively new. Bonnie Johnson, County Coordinator, said the Duluth jail is a direct supervision facility that has been operating for 5-6 years, and it is a model facility of the NIC (National Institute of Corrections). Mr. Bennett asked if jail staff have had an opportunity to tour such a facility, and Mrs. Johnson said she believes the sheriff sent all of his staff on a trip to view a direct supervision jail before the new Cass County Jail opened. Mr. Wagner said there was an extensive amount of training for the staff in learning how to operate this type of facility. MOTION, passed Mr. Vanyo moved and Mrs. Sorum seconded to ask the sheriff to arrange a trip on behalf of the board of commissioners to St. Louis County in Duluth, Minnesota, obtaining dates for a possible visit from the Cass County Commissioners who wish to attend; and that Sheriff Rudnick send a memo outlining the details of the trip when the arrangements have been made. Discussion: Mr. Wagner asked Commissioners to suggest any dates that would work best for them, and Mr. Vanyo suggested sometime in March, preferably in the middle of the week. On roll call vote, the motion carried unanimously. ,.... 15. JAIL, Hirina procedures Sheriff Rudnick said his department is in the process of hiring jail staff again, and due to the amount of time involved in the hiring process, requested authorization to retain a list of potential employees for at least six months. Mrs. Johnson said Cass County Government is an Equal Opportunity Employer and every job opening is advertised. In the case of jail staff, she said they have used an informal cut-off period of 1-2 months. She is not opposed to a 6-month hiring list for the jail because that job is not a good fit for everyone. If extended beyond six months, she said the applicants would most likely find another job by that time. MOTION, passed Mrs. Sorum moved and Mr. Bennett seconded that the Cass County Jail be allowed to have a hiring list for six months. On roll call vote, the motion carried unanimously. - 16. JAIL, Annual leave extended to the first six months of 2003 Sheriff Rudnick was present to ask the county commission to extend annual leave to the first six months of 2003 for seven employees who were allowed to carry over the hours in excess of 240 last year. These employees were unable to take annual leave last summer due to the extensive training in preparing to open the new jail. The commission granted a leave extension for 90 days last November, and these seven employees are now asking for permission to extend the leave to be used in the first six months of 2003, rather than taking time off in the winter months. MOTION, passed Mr. Bennett moved and Mr. Vanyo seconded to allow jail staff, who were authorized to extend annual leave last fall, to use the time within the first six months of 2003. On roll call vote, the motion carried unanimously.