The decision by the Butler County Salary Board on Wednesday to cut seven sheriff's deputies due to the planned opening of the new county prison on July 1 is a good first step.

Once the prison is in operation for a few months, the salary board might have grounds for further cuts.

Two of the seven positions are to be eliminated effective July 1 and the other five are to follow on Aug. 31, pending the results of a review of Sheriff's Department staffing needs.

With Butler County prison inmates no longer having to be housed in other counties' prisons, thus not requiring transportation to and from those facilities, the Sheriff's Department should be able to operate effectively with fewer deputies.

There currently are 25 full-time deputy positions, although one of those deputies works with the Domestic Relations Department and is paid with grant money.

And, one of the 25 full-time positions currently is vacant, meaning that only six deputies now working might have to lose their jobs in connection with Wednesday's Salary Board action, although that isn't definite.

That will be something for the board to clarify in the weeks ahead.

In addition to the full-time deputies, the Sheriff's Department has seven part-time deputies, although there are 18 part-time positions authorized.

It would seem that the part-time, unfilled deputy complement could be pruned as well, although the part-time positions can provide useful flexibility to the sheriff once the trimming of full-time positions is completed.

The bottom line is that county taxpayers should not be expected to fund a Sheriff's Department staff that is larger than is necessary.

Not having to make so many out-of-county trips should decrease the department's workload significantly. Meanwhile, some county taxpayers who go to the county government center or other nearby offices already question whether the current number of deputies really is needed, even with the out-of-county transports, based on what they see while in the courthouse area.

They feel it shouldn't take two or three deputies to leisurely carry a document from the government center to the courthouse, or hang around in the lobby. To most people, that looks like not enough work.

Of course, those people aren't privy to the workings and responsibilities of the Sheriff's Department, but such views represent valid questions or concerns.

Sheriff Dennis Rickard opposes the cuts mandated by Wednesday's Salary Board action, calling the action premature.

The sheriff argues that the new prison and videoconferencing, even if the videoconferencing works as envisioned, won't eliminate the need for inmate transports. Prisoners still would have to attend some court proceedings, he said.

And, he has reminded the board that when a prisoner requires hospital treatment, a deputy must remain with the prisoner the entire time.

He said the deputy cuts don't reflect the realities of the court system. However, it can be questioned whether the sheriff is facing the realities of county budget challenges and the fact that the final cost of the new prison will be well in excess of $40 million, more than $10 million over the originally estimated project cost.

Amid all of that, it is estimated that the need to hire 33 additional corrections officers for the new prison will add a $2 million obligation to the county budget.

Rickard ought to be working overtime, if necessary to try to help the county deal with the financial challenges it is facing, not be an obstacle to potential solutions. His last eight months in office he is retiring at the end of the year should be dedicated to smoothing the physical and financial challenges tied to the opening of the new prison, not being an obstruction to that process.

About 80 prisoners approximately one-third of county inmates are jailed in other counties. That has provided a significant challenge to the Sheriff's Department.

With all, or virtually all, prisoners to be next-door to the government center and courthouse once the new prison opens, it's hard to fathom that the sheriff's workload will be anything near to what it now is.

And, although the timing of the initial layoffs prior to all county prisoners being in Butler might add some temporary pressure to the sheriff's duties, that challenge is not insurmountable, and the sheriff should resist creating that impression. As for the deputies who will lose their jobs, they have the right to apply for new prison corrections officer positions at comparable or higher salaries, if they so choose.

The county needs to keep its finances under control. The salary board's action is a reasonable first step that might even be anemic in terms of staff cuts warranted without harming the Sheriff's Department.