PORTLAND, Ore. ( KOIN ) – Multnomah County commissioners approved a budget modification request from the sheriff’s office on Thursday, granting the agency nearly $1 million to address its “growing staffing crisis.”
The budget modification awarded the Multnomah County Sheriff’s Office $965,885 from American Rescue Plan funds which will expand MCSO Background Investigations Unit from eight to 10 staffers, add an office assistant position, and a fifth recruiter to the office, which Sheriff Nicole Morrisey O’Donnell said would be “instrumental” to address the backlog of recruitments for vacant positions.
The money comes amid a “dire” human resources staffing situation at MCSO after recent turnover and as Multnomah County jails near capacity , according to the sheriff.
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In a letter to county commissioners on Nov. 1, Sheriff Morrisey O’Donnell explained, “The reality is that MCSO is currently only able to staff about two-thirds of its corrections operations. The result is overreliance on overtime, diminished staff morale, high turnover, and regular jail closures.”