Now that the Newton County Board of Commissioners has made their final decision regarding the “rollback”, the Sheriff’s Office has begun the daunting task of laying off staff.  First and foremost, we want to go on record as saying that we did not undertake this activity lightly.  We fully understand that in order to carry out our mission to “serve and protect” we need every member of our team.   We also recognize that our team is made up of men and women with families and other responsibilities. Therefore, we looked at every possible solution for minimizing the effects of this action.  As a result of our  concerted efforts, the “reduction in force” will directly affect approximately twenty-three members of our team, as opposed to the fifty-eight originally thought.  The hardest hit will be taken on the corrections side.  Services impacted include, reducing the number of detention officers assigned to special services; including, monitoring of inmates on road details and at recycling centers; and, hearing officers for responding to inmate grievances, as well as, those charged with transporting inmates to court. 
We investigated every possibility for reducing costs and responding to budgetary challenges. This has not been an independent activity, with everyone chipping away at the deficit.  Staff will be more conscientious about goods and services that result in mounting costs.   In an effort to retain jobs, our vendors have even stepped in to help.  For example, the food vendor has pledged to “give back”; therefore, we are eliminating staff dining services.  This will result in employees relinquishing the convenience of having a hot lunch, offered at a reduced rate.  Additionally, health care vendors and other suppliers have stepped up to the plate and agreed to help us through this period by reducing their costs. 
We feel that we have made the best possible decision in light of a very bad situation.   A review of current circumstances revealed that we are already prioritizing service calls and have inmates sleeping on floors because we cannot afford to open the other pod of the jail.  Furthermore, we were already short staffed; so, we could not afford to compromise patrol or law enforcement activities.  As a result of our efforts, we feel confident that we are not sacrificing services to the 100, 000 plus citizens of Newton County depending on us for service and protection.