Latest news with #GFCCC
Yahoo
16-04-2025
- Yahoo
In weekslong email exchange with state, fired Grand Forks jail administrator sought to fix 'misunderstanding'
Apr. 16—GRAND FORKS — Former Grand Forks County Correctional Center Administrator Bret Burkholder's recent termination was preceded by back-and-forth emails to and from the North Dakota attorney general's grant office about how a "Back the Blue" grant could be spent. The Grand Forks Herald obtained the emails between Burkholder and the grant office, sent between mid-February and March. They began on Feb. 18, when Burkholder asked if the grant's funds — set aside by the Legislature for recruitment and retention bonuses — could instead be used for employee incentive programs like personalized gift cards, and if so, how best to allocate funds within the framework of the grant. "We have purchased a number of items under the umbrella of 'retention' to make (staff members') life a bit better while working here, enhancing much of their breakroom with amenities they never had," Burkholder wrote in the Feb. 18 email. "Is this permissible under the grant? We sure hope so as we believe this idea is much better than simply purchasing them appreciation gifts now or providing a cash outlay to them and then have 20% leave within the year." On March 7, Grants and Contracts Officer Deanna Gierszewski replied to Burkholder saying that wasn't allowed, adding that the funds needed to be used by March 31 and within the 2023-2025 biennium. "What you are requesting to do with the funds does not match the purpose these funds were intended for," Gierszewski wrote. When Grand Forks County Sheriff Andy Schneider learned about the misapplied funds during his department's merger with the jail, he brought the issue to the Grand Forks County Commission on April 1 and explained measures he had taken to mitigate the issue. The roughly $38,000 that had already been spent from the $88,000 grant GFCCC received was to be covered out of other budgeted correctional center funds — such as office supply funds or general operations, depending on the expense — and the full $88,000 has now been given as a bonus to GFCCC employees, Schneider told commissioners at that time. However, the incident led the commission to recommend, in a 3-2 vote, that Schneider fire Burkholder. Schneider, who has sole authority to discipline and terminate in his department, terminated Burkholder's employment on April 8, saying that his service was no longer needed as GFCCC moves in a different direction. The "Back the Blue" grant was created by the Legislature in 2023 to aid the recruitment and retention of law enforcement and correctional officers. Funds were disbursed through the Attorney General's office to 106 law enforcement and correctional agencies across the state. The Grand Forks jail is the only recipient of the grant to use the funds incorrectly, according to Gierszewski. When grant agreements were signed in November 2023 to authorize the disbursement of the funds, Burkholder wrote in the grant acceptance letter that he intended to use the money for retention bonuses, length-of-service recognition garments, a recruitment bonus and other appreciation activities or materials. Later, that evolved into more of a focus on improving working conditions for employees at the correctional center, with the idea that those improvements would invest this grant into GFCCC and "make a perpetual impact," Burkholder wrote in his December 2024 update to the grant office. The philosophy, according to Burkholder, was this: Had the correctional center given out a flat monetary bonus, because of the department's high turnover, a quarter of the funds would have gone to people no longer employed by GFCCC. On March 18 — after Gierszewski informed him the jail's purchases did not match the grant's intent — Burkholder asked for clarification on how the grant could be used. "I apologize for the urgency of this request, but we are limited in time, and if this was a misunderstanding of uses of what the funds could be used for, I need to ensure that the cost of these things aren't applied to the grant and rather simply added to a one-time bonus," Burkholder wrote. Later that day, the Grand Forks County Commission voted to merge GFCCC into the sheriff's office and the sheriff became the head of the corrections center. Gierszewski replied on March 20 and said that an agreement had been signed and that an update would be needed to reflect how the grant funds were actually used. "After reviewing your application budget plan, I'd like to kindly remind you of the importance of adhering to the terms outlined in your original agreement," Gierszewski wrote. "While we understand that the funds may have been used differently than initially planned, the agreement itself remains unchanged." The bill and grant language does not explicitly define a bonus, but the attorney general's grant office said that the intent was for a monetary bonus given directly to employees. "When you go back and listen to the legislation that everyone was pushing for ... that is the route that they were intending to go down and that is what everyone in their (grant) statement said they were going to spend it," Gierszewski told the Herald.
Yahoo
10-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Following administrator Bret Burkholder's termination, Grand Forks jail will move in a different direction
Apr. 9—GRAND FORKS — Grand Forks County Correctional Administrator Bret Burkholder's employment has been terminated, a little more than a week after the County Commission suggested he be fired for his decision on how to spend a state grant and also as the jail and Sheriff's Office continue their consolidation. "This was my decision (and) was my task on how to restructure and what direction (correctional administration) was going to go in," Sheriff Andy Schneider told the Grand Forks Herald. Burkholder's employment was terminated Tuesday, April 8, according to the county human resources department. Schneider confirmed it was an involuntary separation. During an April 1 meeting of the County Commission, commission members voted 3-2 to recommend firing Burkholder. However, the commission noted, it ultimately was Schneider's decision. Schneider said he believes Burkholder is not the best fit for the new direction of administration. The commissioners themselves could not fire Burkholder, as only the sheriff has the power to discipline and terminate employees within his jurisdiction, according to a 2017 North Dakota Supreme Court ruling. Corrections Lt. Jodi Hilde has been appointed temporary jail administrator. Burkholder's salary was $153,372.51. He is not expected to be given severance pay. Schneider said he is not concerned about existing contracts and agreements with other agencies to utilize the GFCCC, as he had already taken over many of the department's administrative duties when the commission voted March 18 to merge GFCCC into the sheriff's office, eliminating it as a separate department. The Herald reached out to Burkholder for comment but did not hear back prior to this report's publication. During the April 1 meeting, commissioners — during that 3-2 vote — recommend firing Burkholder, saying his department had not correctly used funds from a state grant. The "Back the Blue" grant was intended to be used for recruitment and retention bonuses for law enforcement and correctional officers. GFCCC used the funds in a way that was deemed to be not allowed by the Attorney General's Grant Office. Both the sheriff and correctional center — at the time separate entities — applied for and received funds from the grant and were required to give reports at the end of 2024. The sheriff's office used the grant to give monetary bonus to employees. The correctional center, on the other hand, used the grant funds for employee incentives — like improvements to an employee break room — as its form of a hiring and retention bonuses. According to Burkholder's grant report, his department thought a more creative approach to the grant was needed and would be a long-term benefit, given the high turnover rate of correctional officers. Commissioner Mark Rustad, who led the initiative to combine the correctional center and sheriff's office, has contended the correctional center should be overseen by an elected official, like the sheriff. "What happens next really is out of our control at this point, because the jail is — in my opinion — where it belongs: in the hands of our sheriff's department," Rustad said. "So how (Schneider) reorganizes it is completely up to him, and the sheriff who comes along after him can change it how he wants." Rustad added that there are always savings when combining departments. The merger was viewed by some as a way to save money as the county faced a budget crunch with capital projects and debt service. However, despite several meetings between the commission and a committee to study the merger, a clear answer on where savings would come from was not found. Commissioner Terry Bjerke added that he's brought the idea to county administration to have someone work as a grant compliance officer, serving as another line of review when county departments use and spend grant funds. "I wish him the best, whatever he's going to do," Bjerke said, referring to Burkholder. "It was just time for a change, and we have to look at doing things differently and that's one place we have to look at trying to do things differently." The formal notice of Burkholder's departure will likely be in front of the commission at its next regular meeting on April 15 as part of its regular business reviewing employee status changes. Herald reporter Sav Kelly contributed to this report.
Yahoo
14-03-2025
- Yahoo
Grand Forks man accused of distributing fentanyl inside jail
Mar. 13—GRAND FORKS — A Grand Forks County Correctional Center inmate is accused of distributing fentanyl within the jail after returning from his initial court appearance, allegedly smuggling the drugs in by concealing them inside his court paperwork, according to court documents. Jeremie Richard Castoreno, 42, was charged Wednesday, March 12, with Class A felony controlled substance delivery in a correctional facility, which has a maximum 20-year prison sentence. On Dec. 2, the Grand Forks Narcotics Task Force responded to the GFCCC for two inmates who had overdosed, according to a declaration of probable cause summary filed in the case. They administered Narcan before transporting the individuals to Altru Hospital. A task force officer reviewed video surveillance of the jail pod from that day, and observed Castoreno returning from court with his paperwork in hand, the declaration said. A little more than an hour-and-a-half into the video, Castoreno and another inmate are seen going into a cell, and another person enters the same cell within one minute. Castoreno exits the cell after being inside it for approximately nine minutes, carrying his court paperwork, this time folded in half, the declaration said. GFCCC staff were called nearly two hours into the video to assist the other two inmates, who were found unresponsive with labored breathing, according to the declaration. Task force agents alleged finding Castoreno's paperwork with a corner of the paper ripped off, as well as a paper bindle containing a white powder that later tested presumptively positive for fentanyl. Castoreno had been in custody at the jail for less than a week, and had been placed in that specific pod approximately two days prior to the incident. Another inmate housed in the pod said only one person had come into the pod at the time of the overdoses, "so it is not that hard to figure out who provided the fentanyl," the declaration said. Castoreno's initial appearance took place Thursday morning, March 13. His next court appearance, a preliminary hearing/arraignment, is scheduled for 9 a.m. April 21. He has two additional pending cases involving methamphetamine and fentanyl crimes.
