By Donna Perry
Sun Journal
FARMINGTON, Maine — Franklin County Commissioner Gary McGrane said he still could not find in state documents where the Department of Corrections considers a jail cook or cook supervisor essential to be on duty if there is a storm day.
Franklin County commissioners voted 2-1 on Jan. 4 to give compensation time to hourly, essential nonunion employees who have to work when county government is closed on storm days. Employees are paid for those days.
Chairman Clyde Barker of Strong and Charles Webster of Farmington voted in favor; McGrane of Jay opposed the move.
At the time, McGrane had asked for a copy of the Department of Corrections rules that require a cook and cook supervisor to be at work to prepare food to serve inmates while other non essential county offices are closed due to inclement weather.
McGrane said Tuesday that jail Administrator Doug Blauvelt sent him the rules but he did not find the answer.
There are 265 standards, of which, 136 are mandatory and 129 are essential, he said. No where does it say the cook and cook supervisor are essential, he said.
McGrane said he is concerned that other essential employees who are required to work when other county offices are closed, would request compensation time in the next union contract if county government closes or closes early. He is trying to save the taxpayers’ money, he said.
During the days when the jail was a 72-hour detention center, inmates were given frozen meals and other prepared foods, McGrane said.
There were no requirements on what is served to inmates then, Blauvelt said.
The jail was a 72-hour detention center from July 1, 2009, to mid April 2015, when it went back to full operations.
Asked if corrections officers could prepare food and serve inmates, Blauvelt said they didn’t have the staff.
They are also not ServSafe certified, he said.
There are only three corrections officers on duty for each shift and they each have specific duties, including being posted in the control room, booking room and checking certain inmates every 15 minutes depending on their classification, Blauvelt said during the meeting.
The average daily inmate population at the jail is 30, Blauvelt said, after the meeting.
The food is prepared fresh and not frozen or pre-made ahead in case of a storm day, he said. Menus are drawn up ahead of time. The meals also have to served at certain temperatures under the state’s food service guidelines, he told commissioners.
According to the DOC’s policy on Food Service Management, menus are required to be drawn up for six-week cycles in consultation with a department nutritionist or dietitian.
Every prisoner shall be provided with at least three meals during a 24-hour period. At least one of the three meals provided shall be hot, unless the behavior of the prisoner necessitates cold meals for safety reasons as provided by department policies for special management prisoners, the policy states.
No more than 14 hours shall elapse between the previous day’s evening meal and the next day’s breakfast. An administrative officer could authorize exceptions to time frames on weekends and holidays, provided that basic nutritional goals are met, according to the policy.
Frozen meals that were served to inmates while the jail was a 72-hour holding facility, do not qualify under the state’s requirements of a balanced and nutritional meal, especially with the sodium content, Blauvelt said.
“We can’t abide by these mandatory or essential standards without our cooks,” he said. “We would be in violation of the standards.”
Sheriff’s Chief Deputy Steven Lowell said that giving compensation time during inclement weather could be resolved if paragraph D under Inclement Weather in the Personnel Policy is deleted.
The section partially reads: “Employees are entitled to time off with pay only when all or part of the workday is officially canceled due to inclement weather.”
If an employee cannot make it to work because of weather, they could either not be paid or use time they have on the books such as accrued vacation time, county Clerk Julie Magoon said.
Commissioners will publicly review the Personnel Policy at a future meeting. They tabled the review of job descriptions and the policy on Tuesday.
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