But the commissioners talked him out of it.

Beaver County Sheriff Kenneth Yardley "basically said if you guys want it, you can have it," Commissioner Chad Johnson told The Tribune.

"We said no," Johnson said. "We didn't see any reason."

Yardley, 64, made the offer last month in a closed-door commission meeting discussing allegations against him.

Commissioner Mark Whitney said the panel told the sheriff not to resign because he hasn't been charged with any crime.

"He's our county sheriff, and I think he's a good sheriff, and I don't think he's done anything wrong," Whitney said. "I'll stand toe to toe for the sheriff. I really will. I'm certainly not going to make accusations based on rumors."

Two former inmates at the Beaver County jail have claimed Yardley in 2000 removed them from the jail to work on remodeling his house. A third former inmate claims Yardley had an inappropriate relationship with her cellmate and took her for truck rides during her incarceration.

The FBI is investigating the allegation but so far has declined comment. Yardley has declined comment, too.

Not-yet-approved commission minutes indicate a Feb. 6 meeting was held at the commission's chambers in the town of Beaver with the three commissioners, Yardley, Beaver County Attorney Von Christiansen, the county clerk and the commission's assistant. The commission voted to close the meeting "to discuss the character or professional competence of an individual," according to the minutes. The closed meeting lasted 25 minutes, the minutes say.

In that Feb. 6 meeting - which came four days after The Tribune reported the inmate-labor allegations - Yardley admitted using inmates at his house, Johnson said. But commissioners didn't feel that was enough to warrant the sheriff's resignation.

Yardley's action's were "serious," Johnson said, "and we've had that discussion with him that it was probably not an appropriate thing to do, and I think he agrees with us now, on hindsight, that it was not an appropriate thing to do, but all of us make mistakes.

"You've got to remember that he's been sheriff for 19 years and we feel he's done a good job," Johnson said.

County sheriffs in Utah are elected and don't need permission from county commissioners to resign, though by state statute, the commission would choose the sheriff's replacement until the next election.

The commissioners said Yardley discussed his problems with them and a possible resignation as a courtesy.

There are no specific laws prohibiting inmates working at a sheriff's home, though it's possible the FBI is investigating whether the inmates' civil rights were violated.

"I don't think it was the right thing to do," said Commissioner Billie Dalton, "but it wasn't against the law that I can see. And the sheriff, too, has done those guys a lot of favors when they were locked up in there, and maybe he figured he did them a favor by letting them out."

Johnson said he once spoke alone to Yardley about the allegation the sheriff had a relationship with a woman inmate.

"He specifically said there'd been nothing sexual," Johnson said. "And I believe him." . The sheriff and the commissioner did not discuss whether Yardley took the woman for rides in his truck, Johnson said.

Yardley's term expires this year. Prior to news of the FBI investigation, he announced he would not seek re-election.

ncarlisle@sltrib.com