By Dr.Ferrell Miller
JC Breakfast Optimists
Sheriff Eric Coffman was the guest speaker at the JC Breakfast Optimist Club’s meeting at Jim Clark’s Chevrolet showroom on June 26. The Sheriff told club members that he worked at the Junction City Police Department for 11 years and 8 years at the Geary County Sheriff’s Office.
Sheriff Coffman also said that “there are 102 employees that work in various capacities at the Sheriff’s Office. Some are sworn officers, others work in the correction facility and still others work with the K-9 and Water Rescue Patrols.”
One of his concerns is the age of the facility and shortage of staff. “The department is currently short 17 employees.” Compensation needs to be increased for the workers to make it possible to hire quality employees and retain them. “There are currently 110 inmates in the jail each week”, he said.
Sheriff Coffman also stated that “There is a need for a new jail facility. Repairs to the existing facility would cost approximately 29 million dollars and would be a band-aid approach. Research is being done to compare the cost of repairing the jail to that of building a new one. Another concern is the cost of prescription medication for inmates. The Department is required to pay for the medication while the inmate is in jail. Some of the medications cost $2,000 per day.” These costs put a strain on the Department’s budget.
Improvements that have recently been made in the office include the addition of a secretary to do the paperwork and having deputies serve as School Resource Officers in USD 475 schools.