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Llano County Law Enforcement Center, 2001 N. Texas 16, temporarily closed its general population wing. Contributed
Llano County Sheriff’s deputies will transport long-term stay inmates to the Burnet County Jail as officials work to boost staffing levels at the facility located in Llano.
At one point in February, the Llano County Jail, 2001 N. Texas 16, did not have a jail supervisor and lacked as many as five jailers to sufficiently operate an area to feed and house inmates.
In that month, approximately two dozen inmates were transported to Burnet County Jail for general population housing, Llano County Sheriff Bill Blackburn confirmed.
As of March 1, Blackburn said his office has hired a jail supervisor but needs to fill more positions to fully re-open the facility.
“The jail is not closing down. It’s going to be a temporary deal,” Blackburn said. “We’re short of jailers. We’re not getting many applicants.
“We’re not going to accept anybody for housing. We’ll be putting them in holding (cells) if they’re set to be released in 24 to 48 hours.”
Blackburn said he could not comment on the circum-stances surrounding individual personnel issues which led to the staffing shortage.
According to the Texas Commission on Jail Standards, facilities must have a jail supervisor as well as certain staff numbers to maintain certification.
“We’re down to about three or four jailer that we need,” he said.
In the meantime, the newly-hired jail supervisor will be guiding existing personnel as more interviews and other upgrades continue.
“We still have some maintenance work we need to do,” Blackburn said of a painting about to get underway. “We’re processing inmates. We’ve got a couple we’re keeping here.
“We plan to be fully back with our inmates out of Burnet (County Jail) by the end of the month
To apply for a jailer position with LCSO go to co.11ano. tx.us. Fill out the TCOLE application under the Sheriff’s office tab or call 325-247-5050 for more information.
