The timing was coincidental, having a special work group of the Pierce County Council meet with county Sheriff Paul Pastor one day after The News Tribune article on skyrocketing overtime in the jail.

That was the topic of the meeting in council chamber Monday. But it had been scheduled well ahead of the latest reports on overtime costs.

Still, the Sunday article brought attention to the issues involved – more mentally ill inmates at the jail requiring increased supervision that is covered through growing overtime hours. There also is concern that money set aside to hire more street …

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The county officials say the plan would “cause more problems that are even more expensive to solve,” particularly in Pierce County:

While 150 beds are slated to close, and only 10% of those are likely assigned to Pierce County, the reality over the years has been very different. A variety of factors continually lead to requests to be discharged to

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