Warden says burnout, not just violence, is driving staffing shortages at Jefferson County jail

Warden Dustin Myers told the Jefferson County Jail Board that staffing shortages at the county jail reflect long-standing burnout and turnover in corrections rather than only staffing fears tied to recent violent incidents. Myers, who identified himself during the public/press portion of the meeting, described training, counseling and contingency plans intended to keep operations running.

Myers said the facility recently filled several vacancies but still had one or two openings, and that two weeks earlier the jail had been down by about five positions. He described overtime and mandatory stay-overs as a regular response to short staffing, and said the county and the union have worked to improve hourly pay to help recruitment. “We’re all coming,” Myers said of staff response to on-site assaults, adding that “even hypothetically if it takes you 30 seconds to respond…that 30 seconds is an eternity if you’re the one getting assaulted.”

He outlined the facility’s entry training: a three-week in-house program that begins with classroom instruction, includes a shadowing week and finishes with supervised on-the-job training, followed within the first year by completion of the state corrections academy required by state law. He also said the jail and county make counseling available to staff immediately after incidents and for follow-up care through county resources.

Board members pressed for detail on specific budget lines the warden referenced, including a line labeled “program costs,” and an item for “user memberships,” which Myers said funds association dues and attendance at advanced training conferences. The transcript notes a reference to “$2 a day” in the discussion of training-related payments; the meeting record does not specify the scope or recipient of that figure.

Myers reported that inspection paperwork for a mid-July inspection had already been submitted and that the deputy warden and he planned visible maintenance and touch-ups to prepare. He emphasized that while isolated violent incidents occur, the day-to-day work is repetitive and the facility focuses on consistent procedures, training and employee supports to mitigate turnover.

The board took no formal new action on staffing during the meeting; members accepted routine reports and scheduled the next jail board meeting for June 23 at 11:00 a.m.