9 March 2023
SALINA, Kan. (KSNW) — The Saline County sheriff is concerned that he will not have enough workers for the new jail currently under construction.
It will have room for 392 inmates and will require 24 more jail workers. Sheriff Roger Soldan said he is already short 10 people at the current jail, so he must find 34 before the new jail opens.
Saline County’s current jail is too small, so the County has been paying other counties to house some of its inmates.
“That was a lot of the driving factor was just the money we’re spending outside of County,” Soldan said.
If he can’t find enough workers, only part of the new jail will open.
“I won’t be able to bring all my inmates back,” he said. “Not being able to bring the inmates back is not, is not good, but I still have to run a safe space, and I just don’t have enough staff to open the whole facility.”
Soldan hopes people will apply for the job if it offers more pay. On Tuesday, he went to the Saline County Commission to ask for a salary increase for new hires. They approved $2.99 more an hour.
“That puts our starting wage up to $22.40 an hour, so we’re trying to be competitive with the market in Salina because there’s a lot of other jobs open here,” he said.
He said current corrections officers, corporals and sergeants also got a two-grade increase, a pay hike of about 12%.
“We’re hoping to retain the staff that we have and definitely recruit a few new ones,” Soldan said.
In 2020, Saline County voters agreed to a half-cent sales tax hike to pay for the $89 million jail project. When it opens, it will have 392 beds, a new medical space, a special needs area, and room for programs like life skills.
“Things are going really well,” Soldan said about the construction. “We’re right on schedule, and the timeline is still good, budget’s still good, so we’re pretty happy at this point.”
Some equipment that was delayed arrived this week. Plus, most of the work is now inside, so the weather shouldn’t cause any more delays.
The sheriff said the construction completion date is still expected to be Sept. 25, but it will take a couple of months before inmates can move in.
“We’re looking at the first, probably the first of December by the time we get possession of the building, make sure the staff’s trained, do a security shakedown and get everyone moved, and the building opened,” Soldan said.
He said the jail’s office space would probably be done within the next month or two. The inmate housing units will be the last areas finished because they require more time.
“They have to be secure because it’s a jail,” Soldan said.
The County has not decided what will happen to the current jail.
“There are quite a few entities that are interested, mainly because here at the courthouse we’ve got three new judges, so that’s displaced several of the County offices that were in the courthouse, so they’re looking for space,” Soldan said.
He said there has also been some interest from the regional detention center out of Junction City.
“I just hope that it’s reused. It’s in a great location as far as … most government offices,” Soldan said. “It’d been a great location for us other than we just didn’t have enough ground to expand here.”
He said the 1962 building outlived its usefulness for the sheriff’s office. The Saline County Commission will make the final decision on what happens to it.
“I know that they’re looking for more input,” Soldan said. “They have some options there.”
But his focus is finding jail employees.
“My biggest concern right now is just getting staffing for the new jail.”
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