Earlier this week, Sheriff Randall Wellington warned Youngstown Municipal Court judges that he'll cut the practice of providing video hearings for inmates inside the Mahoning County Jail early next month, and blamed budget cuts for the problem.
On Thursday afternoon, county commissioners, the sheriff and a number of city officials met to discuss the issue. Wellington claims at a time when his staff is down by 23 employees, his budget for 2012 was cut by what he said is 3 percent.
"What was really troublesome, this last year, my budget was cut 3 percent. That really hurt me because I know there was a surplus," Wellington said.
But Commissioners argue Wellington doesn't have his facts straight and that there is no surplus.
"The fact is, the budget the sheriff's department got at the beginning of 2012 is greater than the budget that he received at the beginning of last year," Commissioner John McNally said.
Still, sheriff's staff claim they've been understaffed because of layoffs and retirements since 2010.
"It takes 114 jail staff to run that housing unit, to run the booking. We're doing it with 91. That's 23 people less," said Mahoning County Sheriff's Department Major Alki Santamas.
The sheriff said he's now being forced to cut certain non-mandated programs, such as staffing video arraignments, so he can provide other required services.
"If I don't address these issues, I'm gonna have three judges come in here, federal judges, and that's really gonna put the hurt on us," Wellington said.
City officials claim the sheriff's actions will create a potentially dangerous situation for the public by forcing city police to physically transfer inmates back and forth from the jail to court. And they're upset the sheriff sent out his letter to the judges without any prior warning.
"The city of Youngstown is facing a safety crisis here, sheriff," said Youngstown Municipal Judge Beth Kobly.
City officials said they're being caught in the middle of this budget mess at the expense of the public.
"You're just rolling the dice if you brought prisoners over here again and we're just waiting for a disaster to happen," said Youngstown Police Chief Rod Foley.
But in end, Wellington's only acceptable solution is to get more money to boost staffing. Otherwise, the cuts will remain.
"Contrary to what a lot of people think, it's not a money issue, it's a safety issue," Wellington said.
"We're all intelligent, educated people and we all have the same goal in mind. You know, I'm very disappointed," Kobly said.
