Read Moses’ resignation letter and other documents by clicking here.
There were a lot of things that Les Moses wanted to accomplish as Whitley County Jailer, such as setting up a drug rehabilitation program and a job placement program for inmates.
After only about eight days in office, Moses said he didn’t feel like he could accomplish what he set out to do as jailer, and resigned his position Monday morning.
"I feel like when you tell somebody things you want to do or you are going to do, you need to try your very best to deliver that. If you can’t I think you ought to explain to them why you can’t," Moses said.
"This is the type of thing where I want to be straightforward with people and myself also."
The biggest hurdle for Moses to bring the jail up to a higher standard and implement his plans was money.
"The biggest problem was finding out the debt that the jail is in, and also the county and the fiscal court," Moses said. "It was in worse shape than I expected it to be. With it being in that shape and trying to balance a new budget and the cuts that needed to come, I just didn’t feel like it was fair to the people that voted me in, and to the whole county also.
"I just felt like I wouldn’t be able to meet my obligations to them. I just felt it would be for their best and my best if I just left things the way I found them, and just stepped away."
The jail faces a number of monetary hurdles.
Whitley County’s overall budget is $14,282,928, according to the county’s 2010-2011 budget, and the jail’s $2,828,567 budget accounts for 19.8 percent of the county’s overall budget appropriations.
Out of this sum, the jail only generates $1,520,400 in revenue. The rest comes from the fiscal court and local taxpayers.
The bulk of that budgeted revenue, $880,000 comes from housing state inmates, and $350,000 comes from housing prisoners for other counties.
Because of state budget problems, county jails are housing fewer state inmates than in years past. At one point, the Whitley County Detention Center housed about 120 state inmates, but today it houses about half that many state inmates.
Moses said the number of state inmates housed at the detention center seemed to be climbing back up slowly.
"It brings a lot of revenue into the county," Moses said. "You kind of have to jump through hoops, and just do the best you can with that.
"All the other counties are striving to do the same thing with that. You just can get what you can get."
He said the finances of the whole county revolve around the jail to some extent because it costs a great deal of money to operate.
"I realize that the county depends on the jail to bring a lot of revenue in from state prisoners," Moses said.
"When you come right down to the operation of something like that as far as the finances of it and the stuff you have to have, it is a pretty serious thing."
Running the jail isn’t cheap proposition.
According to the county’s budget, $760,000 is budgeted for salaries for jail personnel with another $405,200 budgeted for things like social security, and workers compensation. This doesn’t include the jailer or chief deputy jailer’s pay. The jail has about 46 employees.
The jail has a $125,000 budget for the medical services, and $46,200 for the jail nurse. $300,000 is budgeted for food.
$489,440 is budgeted for payments on the bonds, which were sold to finance construction of the jail. Out of this sum, $150,000 goes towards the principal and $339,440 towards the interest.
The jail construction bonds won’t be paid off until 2034.
After he took over as jailer, Moses quickly faced the reality that what he wanted to implement at the jail wouldn’t happen quickly.
"It is not going to be an easy fix. Really, I don’t know what it will take to fix some of it," Moses said. "I figured instead of just dragging this out, I would just face the reality of it.
"It was time for me to just say, ‘Hey, I’ll just leave it the way I found it, and tell the people I appreciate them for their trust.’ I hope they understand this decision was more for them than anything."
Moses said he knew that with the economy, things would be in bad shape fiscally speaking, but he didn’t realize how bad it would be for both the jail and the county as a whole.
Moses said he enjoyed working with the jail employees, and that the prisoners were even good to him.
Moses went back to work at the Cumberland Falls Water District Tuesday morning.
"I was just gone a week. They offered for me to come back, and I appreciate that," Moses said. "I am thankful to still have something to hold onto."
Moses said that he doubts he will ever run for elected office again.
