Fayette County jailer to be state’s new corrections commissioner

Rodney Ballard, who has headed the Fayette County Detention Center since 2012, will be the state’s new corrections commissioner, effective March 14.

Ballard, a 35-year law enforcement and corrections’ professional, will replace LaDonna Thompson, a 27-year veteran of the state Department of Corrections. Thompson is retiring March 1.

“In Rodney Ballard we have a professional who has extensive experience and expertise in both state and local corrections and has most recently directed operations at the Fayette County Detention Center,” Justice and Public Safety Cabinet Secretary John Tilley said in a statement.

“I want to thank Gov. Matt Bevin and Secretary Tilley for the appointment, and I’m excited to join the governor’s justice and public safety team,” Ballard said.

Ballard was state deputy commissioner of Corrections for Community Services and Local Facilities from 2008 to 2012. In this position he oversaw the Division of Probation and Parole and the Department’s Division of Local Facilities, which includes state jail inspectors.

Since 2012, he has been director of the Division of Community Corrections in Lexington, in charge of the Fayette County Detention Center and its nearly 1,300 beds and $33.5 million budget.

Lexington Mayor Jim Gray plans to appoint an acting director to replace Ballard.

“We’re sorry to see Rodney go,” Gray said. “Through innovation, discipline and strong leadership, he has made our jail a better place for corrections officers and for those incarcerated there. We look forward to continuing to work with him in his new role.”

Ballard began his public safety career as a police officer in Northern Kentucky before joining the Kentucky State Police in 1982 for 17 years as a trooper and investigator.

Upon his retirement from KSP, Ballard was chief deputy of the Kenton County Detention Center.

Ballard holds a bachelor's degree in Criminal Justice from Northern Kentucky University.

This story was originally published February 19, 2016 at 5:14 PM with the headline "Fayette County jailer to be state’s new corrections commissioner."