Linn County Supervisor wants to hire deputy to patrol county building

CEDAR RAPIDS - A Linn County Supervisor has recommended the hiring of a sheriff's deputy to staff the county administration building for added security and customer service.

Supervisor James Houser, who made the recommendation during Wednesday's budgeting discussion, said he would like to see the Linn County Sheriff's Office add one new deputy position to handle security at the Jean Oxley Linn County Public Service Center, 935 Second St. SW in Cedar Rapids.

'It's just my belief that with all the things happening around the country and around the world that we want to ensure that, when the public comes to visit our building, they come to a safe environment,” Houser said Friday. 'And it's also for the safety and well-being of the employees that work in our building.”

Houser said a full-time deputy would cost the county just shy of $90,000 for salary and benefits and to train and outfit the new hire.

However, fellow Supervisor Brent Oleson said he feels the county could find better use for that money.

'I'm not supportive of it,” Oleson said. 'It's not that it's not well intended ... it's just not on my priority list of things that the county needs to address this time around.”

Houser's recommendation will go into a list of requests for added funding from county departments that is taken up during the county budgeting process. All new expenses for projects, ideas or programs are evaluated by the board and ranked once available funding has been determined.

County funding is limited and Oleson said the board has already received more than $1 million in requests, so some offers will be turned down.

The board is scheduled to make those decisions later this month.

Oleson said the county employees currently have access to panic buttons for times when police presence is requested and the sheriff's office is notified before any public meeting that might create a tense or adversarial atmosphere.

'A full fledged deputy to just kind of patrol is not a wise use of money for me,” Oleson said. 'I don't see it in the cards this year with all the other spending requests.”

Houser added that he isn't implying the county building, which houses the board chambers and offices for the county assessor, auditor, recorder and treasurer, is unsafe, but rather that adding a full-time deputy would be an asset to the employees and the public during potentially heated public meetings.

'I'm looking at it as being proactive and to provide good customer service in our building and also providing a level of safety and security in that experience,” Houser said.