SAFFORD — At its most recent meeting, the Graham County Board of Supervisors unanimously took action to make the courthouse safer.
The board agreed to reclassify two part-time security officer positions to full-time, and eliminate one part-time position.
Prior to the move, the courthouse was staffed with four part-time security officers, primarily those who had retired from law enforcement or corrections. With those employees now retiring from their second career, the county is finding it difficult to attract applicants to the part-time positions.
“In 2019 we received 21 applications. This time around we had two part-time vacancies occur in June of this year, and we only received nine applications. And most of them did not meet the minimum qualifications,” said Cindy Norris-Blake, Human Resources director for the county.
Total cost to the county, including insurance and retirement, would range from $54,000 to $63,000 per full-time position.
In addition to the reclassification, firearms training is being added to the position, as well as attendance at the state-run Court Security Officers Training Academy.
County Manager Dustin Welker said the reclassification will give more flexibility to the judges, who can move security personnel to specific areas based on any given day’s activity at the Courthouse.
