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Steamboat Springs — Members of the Routt County Board of Commissioners told Sheriff Gary Wall on Monday that they have no intention of creating a new position for a jail administrator. However, they agreed in principle with the need for one and said they might be willing to reclassify an existing position in the Routt County Sheriff’s Depart­ment to make it happen.

Wall appeared before the commissioners to ask them to fund the jail administrator at an annual salary of $58,620, with benefits boosting the cost to the county to $73,000 to $81,800.

“I’ll tell you right now, I’m not going to buy off on that right now,” Commissioner Doug Monger said. County sales tax revenues “haven’t changed — I think they’re actually getting worse. I fully support the position, but not a new position. It’s critical that in operations we have a go-to guy in the jail. Maybe by reclassifying an existing position.”

Monger’s suggestion implied writing a new job description and qualifications, and increasing the salary for an existing position at the jail to accommodate an administrator.

A strong possibility for a current position that could be reclassified to create a jail administrator’s spot is an unfilled jail deputy’s spot that is already in the budget.

Wall pointed to a recently completed analysis of jail and justice center security by Voorhis Associates as justification for his request.

“A jail administrator was recommended because of the magnitude of responsibilities and duties that were required to maintain a jail 24/7, 365 days a year and oversee the entire operation of the jail,” Wall wrote in a memo to the commissioners. “We are requesting this position be created to more efficiently run and maintain the jail and justice center because of the immense amount of time and effort it requires.”

Reminded by County Mana­ger Tom Sullivan that the county was faced with additional budget cuts in the year ahead, Wall said his department is sensitive to the county’s fiscal challenges and quickly embraced the idea of upgrading an existing position in order to hire a jail administrator.

“We’re very much under budget, and it’s at some sacrifice,” the sheriff said. “Let’s go back and work on reclassifying a position.”

Wall said that for the past 2 1/2 years, three jail sergeants have collaborated to run the jail in three shifts. The jail population varies but ranges in the 20s, compared with the 40 to 50 people housed there at a time when he first took office, he added.

The commissioners asked Wall to arrange a meeting with Hu­­man Resources Director Chris Hensen to hammer out qualifications, a formal job description and salary for the position so they can consider it at a later date.

Monger said later that although it’s understood that reclassifying an existing position to accommodate a jail administrator would involve some financial impact to the county, it would be far less than adding the salary and benefits of a new administrator on top of the existing payroll for the jail. Further, he said, the commissioners have not committed to what the compensation for a jail administrator might be.

“We have some really good, competent people working at the jail,” Wall said. “And we’ve been able to eliminate excessive turnover.”