Hamilton County Jail / file photoHAMILTON COUNTY, TN. (Times Free Press) -- With less than half the fiscal year over, the Hamilton County Sheriff's Office is expected to expend its entire overtime budget for jailers before the end of the month because of a shortage of corrections officers.
From July 1 to Dec. 12, corrections officers logged 20,089 overtime hours at the six-story downtown jail. The department has spent $438,202 for overtime, leaving just $40,148 to last until June 30.
Of 139 budgeted corrections officer positions, just 129 are filled. Some of those are administrators, and other employees listed as corrections officers don't actually work in the jail, sheriff's office records show.
Read more on the story from our news partners at the Chattanooga Times Free Press.
