Negotiations continue among the Plumas Board of Supervisors and the sheriff’s office, as now the department is forced to announce an even more dire situation of limited patrols for the entire county.
Sheriff Todd Johns warned that this situation may come to be back in July when we spoke with him regarding staffing concerns during a busy fair time. Johns emphasized he has been stretching his staff to their limits, working 12-hour shifts six days a week and continuing to lose dedicated employees to higher paying job opportunities that can offer regular working hours.
Just as of this summer, Johns has had to reduce patrols down to a two-deputy single patrol shift. A move that put the community on edge.
Now, with the latest change, The sheriff’s office has had to make the adjustment to a swing shift to address the staffing challenges in what Sheriff Johns says is the lowest-paid sheriff’s office in the state, a challenge he says is the underlying factor in his ability to maintain appropriate staffing levels, and a plea to the board of supervisors he has brought up time and time again.
A sheriff’s deputy 1 in Plumas County fresh out the gate starts out at 21.52 cents and tops out at just over 26 dollars an hour.
What the new swing shift for the Plumas sheriff’s office will mean for the county is possible delays to emergency response, to which the department says is “regrettable” as those on duty are forced to staff the jail, a top requirement of the sheriff’s office. When the patrol deputies are off duty, this means there will be no one to cover the county.
The change will also mean emergencies will also need to be prioritized. Though the sheriff’s office says emergency calls will continue to be a top priority, dispatch will have to assess situations to provide the most urgent assistance as quickly as possible.
In a statement released to the community, the sheriff’s office says it recognizes “the gravity of the situation and understands that delayed emergency responses can be distressing.”
Yet adds they “are exploring every avenue to mitigate the potential impact on public safety while also addressing the staffing needs of the Plumas County Jail.” Emphasizing that safeguarding the well-being of all residents remains unwavering.