For three days last week, no Cass County sheriff's deputies worked the road because they all had to be in the local courts transporting inmates, Sheriff Randy Pryor told the county council on Nov. 17.
The jail's staff isn't big enough to keep up with the rising inmate population, Pryor explained.
County officials have decided to add three more positions at the jail with the possibility of another four more next year.
Cass County Commissioner Jim Sailors said at Friday's council meeting that the jail failed a recent Indiana Department of Correction inspection because of its lack of staff. The county has to respond with its plan for resolving the issue in January or the state could cut funding it provides to the jail, Sailors said.
Pryor said on Friday that the jail was eight inmates over capacity at 216 with 14 being housed at other facilities for a total of 230. He went on to say he wouldn't be surprised if the population reached 300 in the near future.
The inmates being housed elsewhere are done so at a rate of $35 a day, Pryor said. He added he'll need extra funds in the first quarter of next year in order to continue paying for the jail's overflow.
The trend shows no sign of subsiding, Pryor said.
"If we actively went out and served the warrants that we have, we'd need a jail the size of the Elkhart County Jail — 1,000 inmates — because that's how many warrants we have," Pryor said.
As he has in the past, Pryor pointed to the state's 2014 criminal sentencing reform on Friday as the reason behind the increase in inmates. It dropped penalties for some crimes into the Level 6 felony bracket, convicts of which are housed in county jails as opposed to state prisons.
Pryor also referred to a staffing report prepared for the jail indicating if it surpassed 180 inmates, seven additional employees would be required.
Cass County Council members voted unanimously on Friday for the jail to immediately take on three new employees. The county commissioners approved the same measure on Monday, Nov. 20. Included in the commissioners' measure was the approval for four more jail employees by the end of 2018 if the necessary funding is available.
"There's some stuff I don't mind appropriating taxpayer dollars for," Cass County Councilman Brian Reed said at Friday's meeting. "You got to have infrastructure, you got to have public safety and you got to have law enforcement and jails. Those things I don't mind raising my hand to vote for money and I don't think too many people would disagree with me."
Furthering the jail's staffing challenges is the fact that it's not currently fully staffed, Pryor said at Friday's council meeting, explaining he has three openings he's working to fill before he can get to the three new positions the officials approved.
Higher pay at jails in surrounding counties makes it difficult for Cass County to retain employees, Pryor said.
After Monday's meeting, Pryor said starting pay for a Cass County correctional officer is $28,000 a year.
Carroll County Sheriff Tobe Leazenby said by phone Monday that correctional officers start at around $32,000 a year in Carroll County. Fulton County Sheriff Chris Sailors said correctional officers in Fulton County start at $29,317 for six months before moving up to $31,867.
Cass County officials continue to intend to expand the jail.