Tuolumne County Sheriff Bill Pooley is optimistic that a tentative deal on a new labor contract between the county Board of Supervisors and the union representing deputies will improve an ongoing staffing crisis in his office, as well as public safety overall.
Pooley confirmed the two sides “reached an agreement in principle” behind closed doors Tuesday that’s now pending approval by the Deputy Sheriffs’ Association of Tuolumne County, which represents all deputies, jail staff, dispatchers, district attorney investigators, and probation officers.
“Our board of supervisors really did a great job to help push this along,” Pooley said in a phone interview Wednesday. “I have so much great appreciation for what they’ve done, and the fact that they’re recognizing the need to bolster public safety in our county.”
Details on exactly what the proposed new agreement includes remained confidential as of Wednesday, Pooley said. The board will eventually have to approve it at a public meeting if it’s ratified by the union.
The possible deal comes after months of negotiations that saw Pooley publicly sounding the alarm over the severity of his office’s staffing situation, which he said has been a problem since he became sheriff four years ago.
Pooley spoke again about the matter Tuesday at the board’s meeting, where he urged county supervisors to “get this done today” during public comment before they went into a closed session to continue the talks with the association.
“This must be done today,” he said at the meeting. “To go on anymore puts our public in danger. I want to pound on this podium until people listen. This community is in trouble.”
Earlier at the same meeting, the board had to approve reimbursing the Calaveras County Sheriff’s Office $163,000 for housing some inmates from Tuolumne County at its jail between July and November because there wasn’t enough jail deputies to safely hold them at the $51 million Dambacher Detention Center in Sonora.
There are currently 15 vacant jail deputy positions out of a total of 37, which Pooley said will take him more than seven years to fully replenish — if he can even attract enough qualified applicants. Only one jail deputy was hired in the past 12 months, while nine others left.
The lack of jail deputies has forced the Sheriff’s Office to close half of the 230 beds at the Dambacher Detention Center, which opened last year after decades in development, leaving fewer beds than were available at the former jail that was replaced in part due to a need for more space.
Since taking back the inmates from Calaveras County in November, the Sheriff’s Office has explored alternatives that have included releasing inmates to serve the remainder of their sentences at home and allowing them to earn work credits for faster release.
Pooley also said deputies in his patrol division have been forced to work many hours of overtime covering shifts because about a third of the positions are either vacant or have a deputy out on leave.
“Our deputies are doing a great job with very little staffing,” Pooley said on Wednesday. “I just appreciate what they’ve done for this community, being so short-staffed and really stepping up and doing a great job.”
The negotiations have also come with concessions from the Sheriff’s Office that include Pooley offering to freeze at least four of the vacant deputy positions in hopes of being able to hire and keep more by raising wages, which he said are currently among the lowest in the region.
Pooley said the Community Corrections Partnership that includes himself, District Attorney Cassandra Jenecke, Public Defender Scott Gross and Chief Probation Officer Dan Hawks also voted to approve providing $300,000 for funding the terms of the proposed agreement.
Despite not being able to discuss specifics, Pooley said he believes the new contract would “really go a long way to help recruit and retain law enforcement professionals in our area.”
