Dubuque County sheriff department requests more officers

The Dubuque County sheriff says the county’s jail needs additional officers to meet mandatory staffing rules and that rising costs and decreasing non-county funding are hindering the facility’s operation. Sheriff Joe Kennedy discussed the jail’s needs during his annual budget presentation to the Board of Supervisors this week. He said several factors contribute to his request for six additional corrections officers at the jail, the hiring of whom could be phased in over the next two years. Among those factors are an aging workforce leading to more sick time usage, more county-approved holidays, and time spent transporting inmates. stretching a lean staff past its limits.  The supervisors did not vote on Kennedy’s budget proposals.