On the first day of his new term as San Jacinto County Sheriff, Sheriff Sam Houston faced an unexpected challenge—a mass exodus of employees from both the sheriff’s office and the county jail.
While five employees, including the chief deputy, one lieutenant, two detectives, and a captain, were already not expected to be retained under the new administration, the departure of an additional 14 employees came as quite a surprise. Combined with eight existing vacancies, most of which were in the jail, the department found itself operating with a significantly reduced staff.
New Chief Deputy Stanley Jolly told Bluebonnet News that the departures represent approximately 30 percent of the total workforce between the sheriff’s office and the jail. Despite the staffing shortfall, Jolly assured the public that steps have been taken to maintain law enforcement services.
“We’re running pretty much what they were running before,” Jolly said, explaining that staff has been shifted around to cover gaps and ensure that county residents do not experience interruptions in service.
Jolly added that deputies are picking up comp time during this transition period. As soon as the department is fully staffed, those deputies will be compensated with time off.
The sheriff’s office is now focused on recruiting new employees to fill the vacancies and stabilize operations.
“We are accepting applications for a dispatcher, patrolmen and jailers,” Jolly said. Applications can be submitted through the San Jacinto County website, https://www.co.san-jacinto.tx.us/page/sanjacinto.Jobs.Openings, once the jobs are posted by the county.
According to Jolly, the annual starting salaries for these positions are $50,390.30 for deputies, $41,290.85 for dispatcher and $46,864 for jail detention officers.
Article reposted with permission from bluebonnetnews.com
