Wagner shares jail frustrations

RITZVILLE — Sheriff Dale Wagner expressed his disappointment with the sluggish pace of repairs at the county jail during the Nov. 7 Adams County Commission meeting.

“I’m getting a little frustrated,” Wagner said. “In April or May, we developed a list of five priorities for refurbishing the jail. As of today, nothing has been completed except the roof.”

In Wagner’s opinion, the repairs are not “rocket science.”

“The entire list is simple fixes,” he said. “For example, one side of the building was freezing cold as of yesterday. Why hasn’t the contractor fixed the air conditioner? Why hasn’t someone cleaned the air ducts?”

Earlier this year, his staff listed 30 repair items perceived as necessary for safety.

“Only five items are being focused on,” Wagner said. “I’ve been working on this for two or three years. We need to decide whether we’re going to fix what we have — or become a transport service.”

The Adams County Jail isn’t currently housing inmates. Arrestees are transported to nearby facilities, often in Franklin or Benton Counties.

Because the sheriff is in charge of the jail, Wagner said he’s often blamed for these ongoing problems.

“Advertising, hiring, background checks, polygraphs, psychological screening, transports, dealing with inmates and the courts — those are my primary duties,” he said. “I don’t control funding or jail repairs.”

Wagner then turned his attention to personnel matters.

“Four staff who work in the jail — a commander, sergeant, corporal, and line deputy — plan to leave the department in the next few weeks,” he said.

Wagner cited safety concerns, insufficient staffing, minimal jail repairs, and compensation as driving forces behind the departures.

He said he’s discussed these matters with other sheriffs across the state.

“Everyone’s dealing with similar staffing issues. For example, Franklin County is down 16 positions from full staffing levels,” he said. “Benton County is down 17. Even the Grant County sheriff’s department, which plans to hire my Adams County staff, is down 6 positions.”

He conceded corrections positions are hard to fill.

“But that doesn’t mean we just give up and hope somebody comes through the door,” he said.

Wagner said he currently has four people in the hiring pool.

“Hopefully, we’ll hire all of them by the end of the month,” he said. “If no one else leaves, I’ll have six jail staff, all brand new and untrained.”

He said he’s working on a plan to train the staff using state standards, “But I’m tapping my road resources to fill in. It will be a long process.”

In addition, he notes that sheriffs throughout the state prohibit staff from working alone in jail facilities. As a result, more personnel are needed.

Commissioner Dan Blankenship shared the sheriff’s concerns.

“We have a $2.6 million request at Congressman (Dan) Newhouse’s office,” he said. “But we don’t know how much money we have to work with. Getting a new Speaker in the House may fix some funding problems, but we’re unsure about the source or amount of money.”

Wagner asked: “Have we looked at bonds, taxes or other options? Nobody wants higher taxes, but they also don’t want dangerous people in their communities.

“I’m not here to argue or blame. I’m not bashing the commissioners. But there needs to be a concerted effort to address these issues. And I need your help.”