CLAYTON — The St. Louis County Council on Tuesday heard explosive testimony from jail supervisors, officers and jail reform activists who called for immediate action to improve conditions at the facility, days after a correctional officer was assaulted and hospitalized by an inmate.
Acting Jail Director Scott Anders, several county jail officers and jail reform advocates urged the council to fund an immediate $2 an hour pay increase to help fill more than 80 vacancies that have left the facility with too few staff to safely monitor about 950 detainees, about two-thirds of whom are being held for violent crimes.
Correctional officers told council members they have only enough staff for one officer per “pod,†or housing unit of about 70 inmates and warned conditions at the county jail are beginning to mirror those in the city jail.
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“I’m terrified. I am terrified to step into one of those pods because I don’t know if I’m going to be able to come out of there and go back home to my family — I have children, I have grandchildren,†said correctional Officer Martha Wheat.
Wheat said she was in the neighboring pod when her coworker was attacked Nov. 10 and heard her cries for help. Another inmate ultimately pulled the attacker away, Wheat said. She said she’s unsure what would happen to her if she was attacked.
“We need help, ain’t no other way to put it. ... It’s not just about the money, it’s about our safety. We are in need of officers. Money will help us get the people that we need.â€
The County Council in August approved $1.9 million in federal American Rescue Plan Act funds to provide pay increases for jail corrections officers. But the bill was a compromise on an April request from former Jail Director Doug Burris, who retired in October, to use $5 million in federal pandemic relief funds to raise salaries by $2 an hour for county corrections officers.
The compromise turned the hourly increase into lump-sum “milestone†increases for workers, offering $500 after each 90 days on the job, including a $500 one-time sign-on bonus for new hires. The new proposal for an hourly pay raise would total about $3.4 million over two years, according to .
Anders, who was named acting director last month, said the legislation wouldn’t take effect until the end of the year. And the county’s legal advisers had determined some aspects of the bill didn’t meet federal regulations over ARPA spending.
He urged the council to adopt an immediate $2 hourly raise increase.
“We are in a crisis situation,†Ander said.
“We have 300 staff — all someone’s daughter, someone’s mother,†he said. “It’s imperative we act quickly.â€
At the time of Burris’ request, the former jail director said the raises were necessary to keep pay for staff competitive with other jails in the region and to recruit and retain staff, citing what was then about 50 vacancies for officers. Burris had said he wanted to avoid the possibility of a riot in the jail.
Those concerns, Anders said, is what the jail is “experiencing now.â€
Darby Howard, deputy jail director, said he witnessed the recent attack and that it had traumatized him. Morale at the jail, he said, was the worst he’d seen in 33 years at the facility. He spoke to the council while flanked by other correctional officers.
“That climate in that facility is the worst I’ve seen it,†he said. “If we don’t do something, I’m afraid for her, I’m afraid for him, I’m afraid for him,†he said, pointing to the other officers. “We’ve got to do something. We cannot continue this way.â€
In response, council members vowed to expedite hearings and legislation on the issue as quickly as possible.
But they were also caught off guard — questioning why they were just learning that the August pay legislation was ineffective.
Councilman Tim Fitch, R-3rd District, asked why the the council was “just now hearing that this was not compliant with ARPA rules.â€
Councilman Mark Harder, R-7th District, asked County Counselor Beth Orwick, “Do you know why that was held up, and how can we move that forward quicker?â€
Orwick said she did not know why, but would look into it.
Harder also asked County Executive Sam Page for an explanation. Page said it was up to the council to revise the bill, defending the original request from Burris, which Page supported.
“That seemed to be what the testimony was about from the jail, they seemed to be requesting hourly pay increase rather than what the council approved a couple weeks ago,†Page said.Â
Page suggested the council, which as the county's legislative body is responsible for adopting and revising ordinances, could replace the August measure "with the hourly rate wage that the folks in the jail are asking for."
Councilwoman Shalonda Webb, D-District 4, who played a key role in negotiating the compromise with Burris, defended the move, arguing it was meant to boost recruitment at the facility and that they were never made aware that it would violate federal regulations.
Council Chair Rita Days, D-1st District, noted the bill had passed without a challenge from Orwick’s office.
“We addressed that with the County Counselor’s office at least six times, and it still came out wrong,†Days said.
The Rev. Philip Duvall, a member of the county jail advisory panel Page appointed in 2019 after a series of inmate deaths, said the panel’s recommendations have mostly fallen on deaf ears for the past two years.
“I see no movement. ... The jail needs money, and they need it now. The jail needs raises, and they need it now. Find the money, Dr. Page. Find it. Help these people stay safe and help the inmates stay safe.
“Otherwise we’ll be in the paper again; hopefully ain’t nobody dead.â€
Page did not initially address the public testimony in his regular address to the council, reading aloud a written statement addressing a new federal grant for improvements to the West Florissant Avenue corridor and ongoing efforts to provide COVID-19 vaccines.
That drew criticism from Fitch: “We hear people talking at the podium about the jail collapsing. ... Instead of a canned speech, I would suggest that maybe at least you listen to what speakers have to say and then address your comments about what’s going on in the county, instead of what you want to hear about patting yourself on the back about West Florissant.â€
The six-month contract would take effect Nov. 15 and last through May 15 for a total cost of $121,505.
Nassim Benchaabane • 314-340-8167 @NassimBnchabane on Twitter nbenchaabane@post-dispatch.com