Bob Gray, interim administrator of the Daviess-DeKalb Regional Jail, eliminated the position of budget manager from the payroll of the jail as of Jan. 21.
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The budget manager for the jail since January 2007 has been David Tolen. Gray said Tolen was not fired for any wrongdoing on his part; the job was simply eliminated.
Gray said he had eliminated the position in keeping with policy that permitted the administrator to hire and fire all jail personnel. He said the duties of the budget manager would now be handled by the administration.
That move was called into question by several county commissioners at the regular meeting of the jail held yesterday morning, Jan. 25. Commissioners who served during the time the budget manager position was created were in attendance. From Daviess County, they included former commissioner David Holcomb and current commissioner Danny Heldenbrand, and DeKalb County Commissioners Wayne Colhour and Gary McFee.
Heldenbrand reminded the present board members and Gray that the position of budget manager was created by an action of the board after they were advised to do so by the state auditor.
The audit of DeKalb County was conducted in December 2006 by Missouri State Auditor Claire McCaskill for years ending Dec. 31, 2005 and 2004. The Daviess-DeKalb Regional Jail District was included in this audit. At that time, issues noted by the auditor included the need to clearly separate sales tax receipts from the jail’s operating budget. The auditor also suggested segregating accounting duties and ensuring periodic supervisory reviews. (This report is available at www.auditor.mo.gov.)
Heldenbrand said the state auditor advised the board serving at that time that the jail had no means of checks and balances if only the jail administrator was in charge of the budget. He said the board created the position to look out for the county, not just the jail, and the county needed the checks and balances to protect it from liability. He said regardless of who held the position of budget manager, the position itself should be maintained.
Gray and the board members said they would review the auditor’s recommendations. They said if they were legally obliged to reinstate the budget manager position, they would. If it is not required by law, they will not reinstate the position.
Mary Morrow, secretary of the board, was fired on Jan. 21, Gray said, because of "discrepancies in her job duties."
Norma Crabtree has been hired as secretary.
Jim Baker was hired for the position of jail investigator by a vote of 3 yea and 1 nay. He will be paid $15 an hour up to 1,000 hours and will work on an as-needed basis.
Ads have been placed in the North Missourian for the position of administrator and assistant administrator. The administrator will be hired by the board and his salary will be around $45,000. The assistant administrator will be hired by the administrator; salary is yet to be determined.
Lance Critten, former jail board member (as presiding commissioner of Daviess County), called into question Gray’s assertion in an article in last week’s North Missourian that no more prisoners would be released after hours onto the streets of Pattonsburg.
Gray said that in general family members pick up 90% of the released inmates; and he would call a taxi for the other 10% or take them where they needed to go.
Critten countered that "a free man is a free man" and that if an inmate refused an offered ride and chose instead to walk, that was his right. Critten also mentioned "Jake’s Law." The law requires warrant checks on all individuals being released from jail.
Gray said only one prisoner had been released from the jail lately who didn’t have a ride. He was taken to a bus stop in a nearby town. Gray added that he would look into the liability issues that had been brought up by Critten, but remained committed to keeping prisoners from being released inside the town of Pattonsburg.
A grant to grow greenhouse vegetables and flowers will be investigated. The activity would keep the inmates busy and also create good public relations as the produce could be donated to charitable organizations.
The board discussed missing receipts.
The jail has a present population of 149, with 60 of those inmates being paying clients outside Daviess and DeKalb.
Contacts continue to be made for inmates to fill the jail. Daviess County Presiding Commissioner Randy Sims said he had been in touch with 13 counties, and 10 of those expressed an interest in boarding prisoners at the regional jail and requested more information.