Familiar face will soon take over beleaguered Fayette County jail — but it’s temporary

A familiar face will take over the helm of the beleaguered Fayette County Detention Center while the city searches for a permanent director.

Rodney Ballard, who served as director of the jail from 2012 to 2016, has been named interim director. Ballard will make $12,500 a month as the executive director of the jail, which has struggled with high vacancies and low morale among staff.

Lisa Farmer announced earlier this year that she would retire from the top job on Sept. 30 after working more than 20 years at the jail. Farmer, who has held the position since 2020, was the first woman to be named executive director.

Farmer’s tenure was not without controversy. The Fraternal Order of Police Town Branch Lodge 83, the detention center union, took a “no confidence” vote against Farmer and Public Safety Commissioner Ken Armstrong earlier this year in part due to excessive overtime and other issues related to the lack of staff at the jail.

The FOP also took a “no confidence” vote against Farmer’s predecessor Steve Haney for similar reasons. The city and the union agreed to a new collective bargaining agreement in February that included increases in starting pay and across-the-board raises. However, vacancies at the jail persist.

The Lexington-Fayette Urban County Council gave initial approval to Ballard’s interim hiring agreement during a Tuesday council work session. A final vote on the interim contract is expected later this month.

The union did not take a “no confidence” vote against Ballard during his tenure at the detention center.

He left the director job in spring 2016 to become the state’s new corrections commissioner, according to previous Herald-Leader reporting. Ballard resigned one year later for a role in the private sector, according to the Courier-Journal.

Michael Harris, president of the FOP Town Branch Lodge 83, said the union and Ballard have had a good working relationship.

“He understands union position on issues and we try to work to a compromise through good communication,” Harris said. “That part has suffered greatly under the past two directors. It is my hope that he will on in an advisory capacity of some sort the new director coming in and give guidance and get that person up to speed on the issues we face here at the facility.”

Staffing shortages have caused a host of problems at the detention center. An investigation is currently underway after an inmate reported being sexually assaulted at the jail last week. Union officials said the alleged assault happened while an officer was on break and that staffing shortages make it difficult for officers to monitor all inmates at all times.

Jails, state prisons and state-run youth detention facilities are all struggling to keep and attract staff during and coming out of the coronavirus pandemic.