Sheriff's Department To Layoff 68 Of 82 Employees
From WTRF TV, March 26
Quote:
ST. CLAIRSVILLE, OH – Sixty-eight of the eighty-two employees of the Belmont County Sheriff's Department will have to be laid off, to comply with the county commission's budget cuts.
The sheriff is questioning the logic of cutting his department to the bare bones, while other less essential services are facing much smaller cuts.
7 News asked the sheriff if it will be possible to keep the peace with only fourteen employees.
"No, when you consider one-half of the remaining staff will be working over in the jail," said Sheriff Fred Thompson. "We'll keep one dorm open but then we have to have the cooks prepare the food, so with that amount of cuts there's no way we could adequately provide security and protection for the county."
Once the layoff notices go out, the Fraternal Order of Police have announced they plan to file an injunction to try to stop the cuts.
Sheriff Thompson says he's still pleading his case with the county commission.
But if they don't change their minds, he says he will file a separate lawsuit that the deputies will also join.
