Nearly two dozen Richland County Sheriff's deputies will get their jobs back next week, aftercounty leaders on Wednesday reached an agreement to fund the department.
The deputies were laid off in March, along with jail employees, 10TV's Cara Connellyreported.
The Richland County Sheriff's office had its budget slashed by $1.6 million in February, andSheriff Steve Sheldon said he had no choice but to lay off 25 deputies.
The decision sparked a protest outside the county courthouse and Sheldon said in March he wasconsidering suing county commissioners, Connelly reported.
On Wednesday, the county and the union reached concessions that will allow them to return towork.
"We have I believe the number is 58,000 county residents that we patrol and some days we had oneman on the road," said deputy Brian Gunder. "There is just no way that you can cover the kind ofarea that we cover and service the number of people that we service properly."
Sheldon stressed the county still has financial issues and this is only a temporaryfix.
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Previous Stories:
March 25, 2010: Dozens Of Inmates Receive Get Out Of Jail Free Card
March 20, 2010: Richland Co. Sheriff's Office Braces For Big Cuts
