Richland County Sheriff's Office Prepares For Layoffs

The Richland County Sheriff's Office is preparing for the layoff of potentially one dozen deputies and Sheriff Steve Sheldon has served 12 deputies layoff notices effective March 19.

Mark Drum, Fraternal Order of Police and Ohio Labor Council Staff Representative for the collective bargaining units of the sheriff's office, sent a letter to Sheldon requesting he address some issues on the end of administration personnel.

The supervisor's collective bargaining unit is willing to work with the sheriff on concessions to help with the budget, providing there is a guarantee it will help save deputies from being laid off.

The sheriff is funded by the Board of Richland County Commissioners from the general fund.

The union feels the current strain on the sheriff's budget is a direct result of the requirement to hire more correction officers to operate the jail than was originally planned for.

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