Two former Southeast Ohio Regional Jail employees who resigned after being charged with fifth-degree felonies within the past year never received formal evaluations by the jail’s Board of Commissioners.

Athens County Auditor Jill Thompson, the president of the board, said she does not oppose more oversight but does not think performance reviews would have been an effective way to prevent at least the earlier of those incidents.

Former warden William “Jeff” Gillespie and former fiscal officer Victoria Adams served “at the board’s pleasure” but were not formally reviewed by the board, Thompson said.

The board members rely on the warden’s reports during monthly meetings to assess the operations of the jail, Thompson said. Gillespie’s personnel file contain no recorded performance evaluations by either the board or other jail employees.

Gillespie was charged Feb. 23 with unauthorized use of computers for allegedly showing a female jail employee adult pornography on his office computer. The charges were dismissed earlier this month, after he resigned and agreed not to reapply for the position.

Although the jail’s fiscal officer also operates “at the pleasure of the board,” Thompson said, the officer has been evaluated periodically by the different jail wardens.

These reviews did nothing to alert board members of the problems that resulted in the jail’s former fiscal officer pleading guilty to unauthorized use of property — a low-level felony — and entering a diversion program Feb. 8.

According to court documents, Adams purchased a camcorder and ink cartridges for her personal use with almost $370 from a special jail account.

The wardens’ performance reviews in Adams’ personnel files indicate she was an “above average” or “superior” employee in every measured area in the four reviews conducted from 1998 to 2002. Only comments in the 2002 evaluation mention Adams’ responsibility for citations that were repeatedly identified in biyearly state audits of the jail’s finances from 1998 to 2005.

Adams resigned October 7, 2005, when the results of a special audit requested by the board revealed other problems that occurred during her employment, including unpaid employee loans, unpaid personal calls on the jail’s business cell phones and her own theft.

Moving Forward

The board has not met since Gillespie’s resignation, but Thompson said she expects the hiring of a new warden to be discussed at the next meeting April 25. Jeremy Tolson is still the acting warden but will not necessarily be promoted to that position, Thompson said.

Thompson is still considering what changes in the warden’s job and supervision she would suggest to prevent misconduct in the future. Supervision is not the issue so much as accountability, Thompson said.

“It is up to the board as a whole to make sure employees are held accountable for their actions,” Thompson said. “Otherwise, how will you decide where the line is?”

Enforcing existing policies and setting a standard of acceptable behavior will ensure the board will not have to worry about problems in the future, Thompson said.

Board member and Athens County Commissioner Bill Theisen emphasized that the people in charge of the jail’s daily operation have to be responsible for what goes on in the jail.

“I don’t know how you would supervise the warden besides make him accountable to the board,” Theisen said. “If (the warden) doesn’t do his job, it shows.”

Bob Beightler, the executive director — effectively the warden — of the Tri-County Jail in Champaign County, said problems with the operation of a jail make themselves known through obvious incidents with inmates and between employees. It is in the best interest of a warden to share as much information as possible with the jail’s board to protect himself, said Beightler, who directs one of three other regional jails in Ohio.

When he was hired two years ago, Beightler asked his board to formally evaluate him because he said he thinks performance evaluations of a warden are “very important to the operation of a jail.” The board of the Tri-County jail evaluates the executive director on different measures, such as annual inspection results, prisoner conflicts, staff competency and his ability to develop appropriate policies and procedures.

There are no state requirements as to what information should be reported to jail commissioners, said Charles Bailey, the chief of the Bureau of Adult Detention.

The board has changed the internal controls and accounting practices with the help of the new interim fiscal officer, Judy Laughlin, Thompson said. A finance committee consisting of all the auditors of the member counties meets regularly to review every bill and to continue to establish a system of checks and balances.

Laughlin gives a fiscal report at every meeting, where the board approves payments and fund appropriations and brings up any inconsistencies or unpaid bills.

Thompson said she also has always supported the idea of running the jail through the Athens County Auditor’s Office, an idea she has previously presented to the board. Two of the three other regional jails in Ohio use the existing departments and internal controls of the local county auditor’s office to provide oversight to the jail’s fiscal officer.