Halifax County commissioners this evening approved a $368,975 request by Sheriff Wes Tripp for jail personnel.

The money will come from the county's fund balance, County Manager Tony Brown confirmed. The appropriation will not put the county in danger with the Local Government Commission, Brown said, answering a question posed by Commissioner Patrick Qualls.

Commissioners delayed making a decision on the matter at its last meeting this month but unanimously approved it this evening.

Approval includes the creation of four transportation officers and two vehicles and equipment for the positions.

Since the decision to cancel the jail expansion project the sheriff's office has paid or has outstanding bills totaling $76,400 through November.

The funds taken for safekeeping and juvenile detention, according to documents contained in the agenda packet, must be replaced or those will run short. “Additionally, we estimate that December to June will cost $72,000,” Tripp wrote in the papers.

“In order to address the understaffing in the jail, the sheriff's office would also request the creation of four new jailer positions, one for each shift,” according to the documents. “This would greatly improve the efficiency and security of the jail while addressing known issues.”

The jail currently operates with four jailers per squad, their current responsibilities and duties beyond what their number can accomplish. This issue leads to problems with maintenance and cleaning, inadequate rounds and time spent with inmates on rounds, the sheriff said.

The state Jail Administrator's Association has recommended a total of seven to eight jailers per squad, Tripp said at the earlier meeting. “Adding 12 jailers is not feasible given the county's financial position, but we are requesting four additional jailers to be added to increase the squads to five jailers.”

The additional personnel would address a number of issues with booking, classifying and supervising female inmates. “We are working with operations to make changes to our housing that would allow for better use of staff. The increase in personnel would allow for the jail to complete the maintenance and cleaning thoroughly, which cannot be done with current staffing levels.”

Originally, the sheriff had requested one of the four transport positions to be a sworn deputy lieutenant. This evening he said, after a request from Commissioner Rives Manning, he would make that position a sergeant. “Having a sworn officer would allow for charges to be taken out if an inmate is destructive or creates problems in a transport rather than jailers going to a magistrate,” Tripp said earlier. “Having a deputy serve as supervisor would be beneficial when on transports away from the detention center to deal with issues that might arise.”