Barren County jailer retiring next month

Jan. 19--GLASGOW -- Barren County Jailer Matt Mutter is retiring next month, and Judge-Executive Micheal Hale said he plans to to appoint Chief Deputy Tracy Bellamy to finish Mutter's term, which will have almost two years left.

Bellamy told the Glasgow Daily Times he does plan to run for the elected position next year as well.

"I love my job, and this is all I've ever wanted to do," he said.

Mutter's retirement, which he announced to his staff at a 7 a.m. meeting Wednesday, will become effective Feb. 28.

The 46-year-old said he'd been thinking about this for a few months and had given a heads up to Hale in the summer that it was coming sometime within the next several months, he said. With insurance and other elements factored in with the hazardous-duty retirement benefits, he's losing money by continuing to work, he said. After double-checking and confirming some numbers with state retirement officials, it was just a matter of setting a date, Mutter said.

"I hate to do it in the middle of a term," the jailer said. "It was basically a financial decision on my part. ... It basically just comes down to common sense."

He said he had heard from other retirees in the state system that after a certain time, it would get to where he would be better off to retire, but when he ran in 2014, he wasn't thinking it would come so soon. He'll have 24 years of service in Glasgow and Barren County, and he has four years of military service he can apply, for a total of 28 years.

"I didn't realize the time would slip up on me that fast," Mutter said.

He said he anticipated "rumors would fly" about the reason for his departure, and he offered assurance that it was not due to any health issues or anything else.

Mutter said he invited Hale to be at the meeting as well because he wanted the staff to hear from Hale himself that it was his decision to put Bellamy in his place for the rest of the term. Technically, the judge-executive has 30 days after Mutter's retirement to name someone, but there was no reason to delay and leave the staff hanging and have more rumors if the decision was already made.

Hale said virtually the same thing in a separate phone interview, adding that Mutter had told him about his final decision and effective date Monday or Tuesday.

"They needed to hear exactly what was going to happen. I didn't want rumors and hearsay going around the community. The employees, to me, need to be the first ones to know."

Hale said he started thinking about who his appointment would be after another long-time county elected official -- former coroner Mike Swift -- retired last fall and he had to appoint his replacement.

"I've been able to work with the people in the administration of the detention center and talk with some of the employees," Hale said. "I've worked with [Bellamy]. He's level-headed. He thinks about things; he makes good common-sense decisions."

The judge-executive pointed out that Bellamy has worked under the supervision of at least two other jailers besides Mutter.

Bellamy said he began working at the jail in 1999, transferred to the road department from 2004 to 2008, and returned to the jail when Mutter was placed in charge.

"He's got the experience, knowing the day-to-day operations of the detention center," Hale said. "I just thought that would be a good fit. The transition should be smooth."

Mutter has been in charge of the jail's operation since July 2008, when he was appointed by then-Sheriff Chris Eaton to step in after then-Jailer Leland Cox was arrested. Once Cox actually stepped down, then-Judge-Executive Davie Greer appointed Mutter to finish the term that ended in 2010. Mutter also ran as a candidate for the elected position that year and again in 2014, with opposition in the primary and general elections both times.

Mutter had been a deputy jailer from 1992 to '94 before working for the Glasgow Police Department until 2002. Then he went to the Barren County Sheriff's Office and technically remained an employee of it until the 2010 formal appointment, he said.

"He's done a really good job running the detention center," Hale said. "I think he got thrown to the wolves at one time when there was a lot of scandal at the jail, and he handled that well. He's been a good steward of the money. He's a good person in the community, and he'll be missed."

Mutter acknowledged the jail has seen it's share of strife. He said he won the 2010 general election by roughly 3,000, but with an FBI investigation, multiple lawsuits and other intertwining issues, he won the 2014 general election by approximately 3,400.

"I'm proud of the fact that I received more votes later, even after all of that," he said.

Several other things have occurred since in the interim as well, including a move to the current building in May 2011. The jail has been self-sufficient with its operating budget for a few years now, with the county footing the $500,000 annual bond payment on the building. Just in the past few months, the jail has begun housing inmates for Monroe County, which closed its jail. Mutter said the bulk of the extra $30,000 monthly in revenue that produces will go toward payments on that bond.

"I feel like the jail is in a really good place," Mutter said. "I like to think it's in better shape now than when I came in 2008. Under Tracy's leadership, things are going to keep going in the right direction. There was no doubt he was the right person for the job, and [Hale and I] both felt comfortable it was going to keep progressing." -- GLASGOW -- Barren County Jailer Matt Mutter announced to his staff Wednesday morning that he is retiring. The change will become effective Feb. 28, he said.

The 46-year-old said he'd been thinking about it for a few months and had given a heads up to Judge-Executive Micheal Hale in the summer that it was coming sometime within the next 12 to 18 months, he said. After double-checking and confirming some numbers with state retirement officials, it was just a matter of setting a date, Mutter said.

"It was basically a financial decision on my part," the jailer said.

With insurance and other elements factored in, he's losing money by continuing to work, he said. Mutter said he anticipated rumors about the reason for his departure, and he offered assurance that it was not due to any health issues or anything else.

Hale had already been thinking about choosing someone to appoint to finish Mutter's four-year term, which doesn't expire until the end of 2018, and he was on hand at the staff meeting to tell them he planned to ask Tracy Bellamy to accept the appointment. Hale said later he hadn't even told Bellamy beforehand that he was going to do that.

Mutter has been in charge of the jail's operation since July 2008, when he was appointed by then-Sheriff Chris Eaton to step in after then-Jailer Leland Cox was arrested. Once Cox actually stepped down, then-Judge-Executive Davie Greer appointed Mutter to finish the term that ended in 2010, and Mutter was elected that year and again in 2014 to hold the elected position.

Mutter had been a deputy jailer from 1992 to '94 before working for the Glasgow Police Department until 2002. Then he went to the Barren County Sheriff's Office and technically remained an employee of it until the 2010 formal appointment, he said.

Bellamy said he began working at the jail in 1999, transferred to the road department from 2004 to 2008, and returned to the jail when Mutter was placed in charge.

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