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With one jailor hired for the Union County Jail during a board of supervisors meeting Wednesday, Sheriff Brian Bolton discussed the work schedule within the jail and the continued search process for hiring more jailors.
Two open positions have been advertised for the jail; one was filled with Union County hiring JD Conard for the role. Conard worked as a jailor for the county previously but had left the position to spend time with his daughter as a single father.
Bolton discussed how the jail will be changing schedules in order to accommodate shifting positions. He said correctional officers will function on 12-hour shifts, working about 84 hours every two weeks
Shifts will function on staggered start times, including from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m., 3 p.m. to 3 a.m., 7 p.m. to 7 a.m. and 3 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Each correctional officer would work 3-4 days per week. Bolton said this was an encouraging deal for jails, saying it helps give officers more days off. Bolton was encouraged after looking at other jails with the same schedule.
“Essentially, they’re only working half the year,” Bolton said. “They’re getting a lot more days off.”
Bolton acknowledged some limitations of the new schedule, but also said this schedule will work best for the correctional officers in Union County. The sheriff hopes to keep jailors consistent on the timing of their shifts to avoid burnout.
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“Don’t get me wrong, 12 hours is a lot of time to spend up there,” Bolton said. “But if we can have two people up there the majority of the time, that will be a lot better. Especially two people until three in the morning.”
Other applications for jailor positions in Union County are being reviewed, with one to be presented on Wednesday, Dec. 31. Bolton gave a rough estimate that Union County received 16 applications for the two open positions.
Even when all positions are filled, a third hire was considered likely by Bolton with one jailor in transition to an officer position at the Creston Police Department.