April 10, 2023 at 11:50 a.m.
Evers signs bill intended to attract and retain local jail staff
Hartman: 'I'm cautiously optimistic'
Known first as Assembly Bill 28, and now as 2023 Wisconsin Act 4, the legislation includes provisions similar to what is offered to state correctional officers and other law enforcement agents.
"This will help attract and retain local county jailers by ensuring the same benefits provided to other individuals with protective occupation status under WRS, such as earlier retirement at 50 years old and receiving duty disability benefits," according to press release from Evers' office regarding the bill.
In Vilas County, chief deputy Pat Schmidt said the new bill will "help with recruiting and retention, without a doubt."
"It's a good thing," he said. "There was a big push by sheriffs across the state during the last legislative session ... getting that bill through was one of the main talking points. All the sheriffs believe it's a step in the right direction to retain and recruit people in corrections because everybody is short on corrections officers. Everybody."
Schmidt said at the moment, Vilas County is "actually doing fairly well" when it comes to staffing at the county jail.
"I believe we're at full staff right now," he said.
Oneida County sheriff Grady Hartman agreed the new bill is a step in the right direction but he indicated he's a little more reserved.
"I'm gonna wait and see what impact it actually makes," he said of the newly signed bill. "What it does is the jailers can choose to be under protective status or not. If they choose protective status, then they bear all the costs associated with that and it's pretty expensive to go from a general employee to a protective status employee."
Hartman said it would cost an employee between six and seven percent of their pay to have that protected status.
"It's gonna impact their pay in that manner so I'm not sure how many of them will opt into that or not," he said. "I'm thankful that they passed the bill because it's a step in the right direction of trying to help the vacancy numbers in the county jails."
Hartman said if he would have written the bill, it wouldn't have passed.
At this time,the Oneida County jail is at "critical levels" with vacancies in jail staffing, he added.
"There was some compromising there," Hartman said of the legislative process in Madison. "So, I'm cautiously optimistic that it'll make a positive impact on the vacancies."
Brian Jopek may be reached via email at [email protected].
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