MAHONING COUNTY JAIL Lawyers want to halt layoffs for 140 deputies

Sheriff says jail's population must reduce to 290 from 590.
YOUNGSTOWN -- Akron lawyers who won a class-action lawsuit at the Mahoning County jail are asking a federal judge to stop the imminent layoff of 140 deputy sheriffs.
In a motion filed Monday in Akron federal court, Robert Armbruster and Thomas Kelley said if the layoffs are allowed, the safety of the inmates and the remaining deputies would be jeopardized.
The Akron lawyers want U.S. District Judge David D. Dowd Jr. to issue an injunction to prevent the layoffs. They want the injunction to remain in effect until the judge determines that the county will take no further actions to endanger the inmates.
FOP president's affidavit
Attached to the motion is an affidavit from Sgt. Glenn Kountz, Fraternal Order of Police Lodge 141 president.
Kountz said the union was informed by Sheriff Randall A. Wellington that 50 deputies will be laid off Sunday and 90 more April 10.
"That will leave approximately five deputies per shift to run and operate the Mahoning County jail," Kountz said in his affidavit.
Wellington has 238 employees, which includes supervisors and part-time deputies. Of the total, 217 are full-time deputies.
"The judge has a lot of power, a lot of discretion, whatever he rules we'll abide by," Wellington said.
Voters twice rejected a half-cent sales tax to generate roughly $14 million annually and commissioners decided to put it on the ballot again in May, not impose it. Commissioners allocated Wellington a $7.5 million budget this year; he wanted $16.9 million.
With layoffs looming, the sheriff said he's been making plans to transfer inmates to jails in other counties. Mahoning County must absorb the cost, which will range from $45 to $80 per day, depending on the jails.
As of Monday, the jail population was around 590, the sheriff said. There is space for about 200 of those inmates in other jails, he said.
Release mechanism
If all the layoffs happen, the jail population would likely have to be reduced to 290 inmates. He said Judge Dowd would have to devise a release mechanism for the 100 or so remaining inmates not sent to other jails.
In a 44-page opinion issued March 10, Judge Dowd said the jail conditions -- mostly because there are too few guards -- amount to cruel and unusual punishment, a violation of prisoners' constitutional rights.
Also, the judge said there is no indication that commissioners or voters intend to take action to provide sufficient funds to operate the jail and other sheriff's department activities.