More money would go to employees and improvements to the detention center under a budget proposed Monday by Jackson County Executive Mike Sanders.
It would address many problems listed this month in a recent task force report on the county detention center.
The task force was formed after four now former jail guards injured four prisoners. Among its recommendations was to increase pay for county corrections officers, the lowest paid in the region.
The recommend budget is for $304.6 million, a four percent increase over the 2015 budget. It does not include a tax increase.
Among highlights from a Monday media release:
It calls for more than a two percent pay increase for all merit employees. Corrections officers would get $1.6 million more in salaries.
“With the improving economy we need to make sure we are able to attract high-quality employees at the detention center,” Sanders said. “Creating higher pay and more opportunities for advancement will allow us to do that.”
The corrections department will also get more money for training, health programs, facilities and an ombudsman position.
The proposed budget also continues funds toward the purchase, improvement and expansion of the Rock Island Corridor and the Little Blue Trace trail.
An additional $1.8 million, for instance, would to toward purchase of the rail corridor, added to $1 million from the 2015 budget.
The proposed budget now goes to the Jackson County Legislature with final passage the first Monday in December.
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