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Mar. 18—GRAND FORKS — A split Grand Forks County Commission on Tuesday approved consolidating the county jail into the sheriff's department.
The commission approved the consolidation 3-2, with Bob Rost and Cynthia Pic dissenting. The change, effective immediately, comes after Commissioner Mark Rustad announced
his plan earlier this year as a potential cost-saving measure
as the county seeks to alleviate budget constraints. The potential savings are unknown and those who served on a
committee that was formed to study the consolidation could not give a solid answer
on whether savings are to be had.
"It is going
to be impossible for me to show cost savings
or where they could come from without having the knowledge and diving in that jail for multiple weeks, hours, etc.," Grand Forks Sheriff Andy Schneider said. "The biggest cost savings in budget would be reducing the amount of personnel and I don't see that being useful right now in my office."
The motion also renamed the facility. It has been called the Grand Forks County Correctional Center, and it now will be called the Grand Forks County Jail.
Rost and Pic felt they needed more information before moving forward with the plan.
"I don't see personally where there's going to be a significant change (and) where the county is going to save money by doing this unless you get rid of people," Rost said. "I think the jail runs fine the way it is right now."
Jail Administrator Bret Burkholder also offered to provide more information since he was not made aware that Rustad was going to motion for a final decision at Tuesday's meeting. He was under the impression that Rustad was just going to give a committee update, based on the agenda. The communication between commissioners themselves and staff has also been
a point of contention through several meetings.
"The purpose of this being brought forward, as it was
told in the Grand Forks Herald on Jan. 3,
when it became news to not only me but other commissioners and others, was the duplication of services and efficiencies," Burkholder said. "And if you really want to believe that, I think it's your responsibility to find and articulate what those are."
Other commissioners felt that delaying further wouldn't get the county anywhere.
"My problem is finding the data," County Commission Chairwoman Kimberly Hagen said. "Are we (going to) keep talking about it in a circle or just pull the trigger and do it?"
While the change is effective immediately, on-the-ground changes will take time. The departments have long been budgeted separately, a fact that Bjerke said during the last consolidation committee meeting he would like to keep. What it means for potential staff reductions is also unclear. The next step is to begin the internal process of consolidation and changing the many aspects of department administration. The departments
have been operated separately for over 40 years.
Among the largest counties in the state, Grand Forks was alone having its jail and sheriff separate. The county had an opinion from the North Dakota Attorney General to deviate from state law.
Schneider said he does expect some upfront costs to the county to change things. He also said he will not be forming a committee to study the consolidation process, a point Pic had inquired about.
"It did happen in the blink of an eye, effective immediately," Schneider said. "As an elected official, yes, I do plan on having individuals help with the consolidations and transition, but I have no intention of forming a committee for that."
In other news, the county:
* Approved signing a letter of intent with the North Dakota Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation for the county to take state inmates. The county
will lease 72 beds at $100 a day, roughly $2.6 million a year to the county for eight years.
The county will likely begin taking state inmates whenever the jail expansion is complete, currently estimated to be in early May. The commissioners have had mixed feelings about the
lease, but it is likely a financial gain for the county.
* Approved spending $200,000 to gather traffic and pavement data on county highways. County Engineer Nick West said the county needs to update spring load restrictions, but they don't have enough data at this time to make determinations, which this funding will solve. Any potential changes would go into effect in 2026.
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