EVERETT — Snohomish County’s jail workers will answer to Sheriff John Lovick beginning in January in a major shift that will dissolve the county Corrections Department.
The Snohomish County Council voted 4-1 Monday to disband the department headed by Corrections Director Steve Thompson. The department’s 360 workers will be added to Lovick’s roster. He will oversee the largest county department with about 720 employees.
That’s about a quarter of all county workers.
The change will save money and boost morale, said Councilman Mike Cooper, who proposed the shift in September.
“This is an opportunity to take a giant step forward for the taxpayers of this county,” Cooper said. Only Councilman John Koster opposed the change. He said the council hadn’t been given time to thoroughly research the issue and determine whether it would in fact save money.
“This might be a good plan, but I’m not convinced yet,” he said.
Councilman Dave Gossett asked the council to defer making a decision until January, but Cooper, Council Chairman Dave Somers and Councilman Brian Sullivan didn’t support waiting. In the end, Gossett approved the change, but worried that quick action could lead to problems.
There’s not been enough research to know for sure that the change will save money, County Executive Aaron Reardon said. He doesn’t plan to veto the council’s decision, and thinks Lovick will do a fine job running the jail, but said he doesn’t know why Cooper proposed the change.
“The jail is one of the best-run departments in the county,” he said.
Thompson and his assistant director, Susan Clawson, announced late last month that they would leave their positions on Dec. 31. Thompson has been the subject of dozens of labor complaints filed by the Snohomish County Corrections Guild since he was named head of the department in 2003. The majority of those complaints were dismissed by arbitrators. Reardon and the council have praised Thompson for tightening the reins on spending and getting overtime costs under control.
Thompson said he suspects the guild is pressuring lawmakers to force him out.
“We did not lose a single arbitration related to disciplinary action,” Thompson said. “There’s simply no record of evidence that the management of the department has been anything but solid.”
The guild has in recent years accused Thompson of refusing to let jail workers use the restroom, failing to replace a break room television and requiring security officers to handle food trays given to maximum-security inmates. Those and dozens of other complaints were either dismissed or found not to be in violation of any law or code. The few complaints that held up under scrutiny included Thompson’s failure to replace a water cooler in a booking area, not providing enough lockers after a remodeling project and investigating an employee who had complained that a live bird was in the jail’s medical clinic.
Jail workers are angry “because I hold them accountable,” Thompson said, adding that Lovick is likely to face the same problems.
Corrections Guild President Rick Hecht said his organization had nothing to do with Cooper’s proposal but supports it. Morale among county jail workers is low, and working conditions need to change, he said. He refused to offer examples of problem conditions.
“There’s a 180-degree difference between Thompson and Lovick,” Hecht said. “It’s a difference of management style.”
Thompson said he also believes Cooper and other councilmen want to put more people under Lovick’s supervision as a jab at Reardon.
“Some of the council’s interest is to restrict the executive’s authority,” he said.
Cooper on Monday said the move is only to save money and boost morale among jail workers. He listed excessive sick days among those workers as a sign that the department would benefit under new leadership.
“When people start using sick leave, it’s because morale is bad in the organization,” he said. “That’s not unique to corrections, it’s just a fact of life.”
Jail workers who use excessive sick leave have done so long-term since before he came to the county, Thompson said.
Lovick is confident that the corrections workers will thrive under his leadership.
“It’s all about how you treat people,” he said. “We’re going to treat them like the quality people they are, and make them feel good about their jobs. No one here is insignificant.”
Koster said he’s not opposed to Lovick running the department, but said the council acted too quickly and didn’t give Thompson enough credit.
“I won’t argue there have been labor issues, but those were there before Steve got there,” Koster said. “It’s pretty hard for me to fault Steve’s job performance.”
Thompson was hired at a time when the corrections department was the focus of repeated criminal investigations and soaring overtime bills. He initially was greeted with support by corrections officers.
It’s not clear exactly how much money the change will save. Lovick said he’ll be able to trim between $350,000 and $500,000 in costs almost immediately by combining administrative staff in both departments and eliminating duplicate work. Jail workers currently contract with an outside shooting range for target practice, and money will be saved when they start using the sheriff’s office range.
Thompson currently makes about $142,000, but a bureau chief who will oversee jail operations will make about $124,000, Lovick said.
There will be savings for other departments, too, if the change means fewer complaints county prosecutors must address, Lovick said.
Reporter Krista J. Kapralos: 425-339-3422 or kkapralos@heraldnet.com.
What happened?
A timeline of recent events in the Snohomish County’s Corrections Department:
June 2003: Steve Thompson, former King County jail director, hired as director of Snohomish County’s Corrections Department, begins to tackle high overtime expenses and trim other costs.
2004: Thompson trims department’s overtime costs by half a million dollars, cuts other spending by hundreds of thousands of dollars.
2005: Thompson is target of more than 100 complaints claiming “dictatorial management” and unfair labor practices. Most of the complaints were later dismissed. Snohomish County Executive Aaron Reardon backs Thompson, noting that he cut costs and improved the department’s operations.
2006: County jail workers file a workplace safety complaint against Thompson, alleging more than 50 safety violations. Many violations were later dismissed.
2007: Jail workers and county leaders reach a new labor contract after negotiating for three years. About 80 issues were approved for arbitration, but the two sides reached agreements on about half of those. The rest were to be handled by an arbitrator.
2008: Councilman Mike Cooper proposes in September to shift the county Corrections Department from under Reardon’s oversight and merge it with Sheriff John Lovick’s office. Thompson and his assistant director, Susan Clawson, announce their resignations effective Dec. 31. The County Council approves on Monday the shift of the Corrections Department to Lovick’s oversight, effective Jan. 1.
Talk to us
> Give us your news tips.
> Send us a letter to the editor.
> More Herald contact information.
