HD66 - Statewide Staffing Standards for the Funding of Sheriffs

  • Published: 1990
  • Author: Joint Legislative Audit and Review Commission
  • Enabling Authority: Appropriation Act - Item 13 (Regular Session, 1989)

Executive Summary:
Item 13 of the 1988 and 1989 Appropriations Acts directed JLARC to renew staffing standards and funding for constitutional officers in Virginia. This report, the second in a series, addresses staffing standards for sheriffs and regional jails. Other reports in the series address staffing standards for Commonwealth's attorneys, clerks of court, commissioners of revenue, and treasurers. The last report in the series addresses issues related to the funding of the constitutional offices.

The staffing standards for sheriffs and regional jails developed for this report are based on measures of workload that have clear relationships to the staffing of the sheriffs' offices. The measures used include locality population, inmate population of the jail, number of civil papers served, and many others. The proposed standards can be used by the Compensation Board to more equitably allocate positions statewide. Application of these standards results in a statewide increase of 792 positions over the current Compensation Board-recognized positions.

The issues involved in allocating positions to the constitutional officers are complex. Therefore, it will be necessary to review the proposed standards in more detail with the General Assembly, the State Compensation Board, the constitutional officers, and local governments. To begin that process overview, Senate Bill 248 was introduced in the 1990 Session of the General Assembly. This legislation, which puts into effect the proposed standards, can be the starting point for discussions on the staff recommendations.