COVID means layoffs at one Tri-Cities jail, 2 outbreaks at the other

Nearly 30 employees in one Tri-City jail have been sickened by COVID-19 in two outbreaks, while the pandemic has accelerated layoffs in the other.

And just last week, Gov. Jay Inslee put a pause on bringing new inmates to state prisons, while officials grapple with nearly 1,900 active cases across the state.

The proclamation in effect until Jan. 3 will mean prisoners sentenced to state prison terms must stay in county jails for now. That includes those being housed at county jails under state contracts.

But it isn’t expected to cause any problems in the Benton or Franklin county jails.

In Benton County, a new contract with the state will pay the county more for newly convicted felons they are holding.

State prisons have been struggling with a number of large COVID-19 outbreaks, including hundreds at Coyote Ridge in Connell in Franklin County and at the Washington State Penitentiary in Walla Walla.

But so far, Tri-Cities jail officials say no inmates have contracted the illness while serving in either Benton or Franklin county jails. However, two Benton County inmates arrived at the facility already infected, said jail officials.

County jail officials credit screening and quarantining for keeping the disease from spreading.

Franklin County outbreaks

In Franklin County, COVID has been a problem for the employees, rather than the inmates.

The summer and fall COVID-19 surge in cases in Franklin County have led to two outbreaks among employees at the Franklin County Jail, said Rick Dawson with the Benton Franklin Health District.

The first was in September and required seven people to isolate themselves for at least 10 days after their symptoms subsided along with being off fever-reducing medication.

The second outbreak is still ongoing and has left 21 people sickened.

Dawson couldn’t say how many were corrections officers, but the disease has cost them overtime according to jail officials.

Franklin County Sheriff Jim Raymond didn’t immediately have the amount for the overtime or how many of the about 40 corrections officers have been out sick.

However, he and jail Commander Stephen Sultemeier and in most cases they try to function without the person until it could create a risk to the other officers. Those costs are not tracked separately, they said.

Benton County layoffs

In Benton County, 10 spots are expected to be cut from the jail and another eight spots won’t be filled, according to corrections Chief Scott Souza, County Administrator Jerrod MacPherson and Deputy Administrator Matt Rasmussen.

Teamster officials are concerned about the safety of the jail staff that will remain once the next year starts. They have spoken with county officials and negotiated the cuts from what was initially 13 staff members.

“This will continue to leave the jail unsafe,” said Russell Shjerven, the secretary-treasurer of the Teamsters Local 839. “This happened only 14 months after the county commissioner took the jail away from the sheriff and told all of the corrections officers that their lives would be better under their management.”

County officials agreed they didn’t plan on making cuts when they took over the jail, but they cut back the inmate population in response to COVID-19.

This includes slashing the number of beds they rent to the Washington state Department of Corrections and the U.S. Marshals Service, according to the memo.

The contracts contribute a significant amount of revenue to the jail. While officials were able to cover that loss with federal funding, the money has run out.

“As the pandemic continues, it does not appear that those revenues can safely return to us in the near term and potentially never return,” the memo said.

Souza told the commissioners recently that they have found a way to save three spots if they made changes to the department.

They planned on restarting a work crew program on Jan. 1, and the officer on that program would replace one of the ones being laid off. They also plan on finding another spot by using money they earned through the inmate benevolence fund.

A supervisor’s spot is also being funded under the security budget rather than the jail budget.

Commissioner Shon Small said he was glad they were able to keep three more people employed than they initially thought.

Changes in population

While they may be close, Raymond said the two jails aren’t really comparable. When it’s fully open, Benton County can house up to 700 inmates, compared to Franklin County’s 300.

This means Benton County potentially has more money to loose as it trims the number of new inmates they take in.

Benton County has been more aggressive as it cuts back the population in the jail. That includes not booking some people in jail if they had an outstanding warrant for a “low-level” crime.

Franklin County also trimmed the number of inmates in its jail to about 180 during the pandemic. But Raymond said they haven’t stopped accepting bookings.

“We believe we’ve put reasonable precautions in place,” he said. “When there is an inmate that is going to be booked that is questionable, we work something out with (the officer) to try.”

So far, the jail hasn’t directly turned anyone away. They have talked with police and state Department of Corrections officials about whether bringing them to the jail is absolutely necessary.

Both counties have said they are quarantining inmates as they come in to the jail Inmates go through a medical screening in both counties which includes checking to see if they have COVID symptoms.

“We’ve only had two positive COVID people in the jail to our knowledge,” Souza said. “Both tested positive outside of the jail and we were aware of their positive status prior to their arrival. They were both isolated to prevent any spread.”

The Benton County chief said everyone coming into the jail is quarantined for 14 days.

Franklin County has screening in place to check to make sure people are not sick.