Roberts County jail administrator Chad Ward has resigned to take a private sector job in North Dakota.

Ward worked at the jail for two and a half years. During that time, he says, he has helped bring grant money into the county and secured contracts to house prisoners for the U.S. Marshal's Office and the Bureau of Indian Affairs.
The jail has had a negative effect on the county's budget, bringing in about $250,000 so far in 2009 while costing the county a little more than $575,000.

But Ward says talk of the jail straining the budget is overblown, and jail staff can't be further cut.

Ward's new job will be doing investigative work at Dakota Magic Casino in Hankinson, North Dakota.