DES MOINES, Iowa --
The first inmates won't be locked in the new Polk County Jail for some time, but a battle is already brewing over who will be watching them.
The newer jail is set to open later next year between Des Moines and Ankeny.
Construction crews are working hard to finish the jail. The question is who will work there: deputies or civilians?
Sheriff's deputies keeping watch inside the Polk County Jail downtown may be looking for other jobs when the new jail opens later next year.
County leaders are working on a plan to shift many deputized jailer positions to lesser-paid civilian jailer positions.
Former chief county deputy Bill Vaughn is now a paid civilian jail consultant for the Polk County Board of Supervisors.
"It doesn't make sense that we do anything less than reserving our law enforcement personnel to do law enforcement functions, not to work in the detention setting," he said.
Vaughn estimated that about three-dozen deputies staff the current jail, and 125 more are civilians.
To save an estimated $370,000 a year, the county plans to trim the deputy staff even more. The question is how quickly and how to do it.
"My interest is that we, if we're going to address this, we address it with the least impact on the current employees as possible," said Polk County Supervisor Tom Hockensmith.
Several deputies assigned to the jail don't know what's in store for them. As county leaders decide to take a few more months to come up with a plan, the uncertainty lingers.
"(Are) they going to keep them employed? (Are) they going to be unemployed? Are they going to have to go back and start all over again and be forced to give up their peace officer status in the state and work as a civilian employee? Those are questions that we had today that didn't get answered," said Polk County sheriff's deputy Lt. Kevin Schneider.
A task force is working on a plan that it hopes to finalize in January.
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