The Lake County Council will likely approve Tuesday a $1 million transfer within the jail’s budget to cover overtime costs as the jail faces a national trend of staffing shortages, officials said.
The transfer is for $1,050,000 from the jail’s protective services fund into three other funds: $1 million for overtime, $30,000 for part-time and $20,000 for proficiency and specialty pay, according to council documents.
Warden Todd Wasmer told the council Thursday during its study session that the department has a $1.8 million surplus in payroll but a $900,000 deficit in overtime. The transfer will cover overtime through the end of the year, said Lake County Sheriff Oscar Martinez in a statement.
Martinez said the jail is seeing an increase in overtime because of staff shortages, which have impacted the department for decades.
“This is no different than staffing shortages experienced at the jail in years past. Every industry, including government and law enforcement services, experiences an ebb and flow in terms of staffing levels,” Martinez said.
Currently, 174 employees work at the Lake County Jail and there are 48 open positions, Martinez said.
Wasmer told the council that about one-third of new hires in the jail work for a few months and realize the job isn’t for them. Other jail employees use that experience to become police officers, which can cause a shift in staffing levels, Martinez said.
“It takes people with a unique skill set and temperament to work in the jail,” Martinez said. “Correctional facilities throughout the country are experiencing the same situation.”
Wasmer said he talked to jail officials in Arizona, Nebraska and Florida who have similar shortages.
“It’s just the environment,” Wasmer said. “Trying to get people into corrections is just not a sought-after career.”
Lake County Finance Director Scott Schmal said this jail transfer would be the second time this year that the department transfers funds within its budget to cover overtime.
A benefit of paying jail employees overtime is the county saves money on personnel costs associated with hiring new employees and the current employees enjoy a check with overtime pay, Schmal said. The downside of overtime, he said, are the longer hours employees work.
Martinez said the department is working vigorously to hire more people in the jail, which includes posting job openings on social media, law enforcement platforms, job search websites, local advertising and job fairs. The job notices have also reached those on college campuses and throughout communities from Dyer to Valparaiso, he said.
“We have widened our search like never before over the past several years to find quality candidates to work at our jail,” Martinez said.
