KALAMAZOO, MI (WKZO AM/FM) — Kalamazoo County Sheriff Rick Fuller says he still has a lot of unfilled positions in his department, but they have cut the gap from having 22% of their positions unfilled, to about 10%.
He says they have beefed up recruiting and done a lot more interviews, and the County Board has made the jobs more competitive financially by redesigning some positions, and changing their standards to make it easier to find staff.
Fuller went onto say they may remain short on control operators and booking clerks as they plan to combine the two jobs to raise the salary rating.
He says they still have a lot of vacancies in the Kitchen at the Jail, sometimes having to assign Jail Guards to double as cooks.
More critical however is the shortage of Deputies for road patrols, with five currently in training right now predicted to fill about a third of their openings.
Fuller says he has also changed up the housing model for 45 to 50 special need inmates with behavior or other problems. They had once been kept in individual cells where they could be monitored, but since have been moved to a pod where they can watch big screen TVs from their cells. Fuller says this suggestion came from a staff member and so far, the reports of problems have gone down significantly.
To explore open positions and to apply, go online to https://www.kalcounty.com/sheriff/
reporting from John McNeill
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